An Unexpected Life
by Sulia Serafine
Summary: An Edge story, complete with distorted game plots and all your favorite characters! ON HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
1. She Came At Noon

An Unexpected Life

By Sulia Serafine

Started: 4-8-01. I do not own the Rival Schools characters (darn). I'm not making any money off them. I'm doing this for entertainment purposes only. Original characters and plots belong to me. 

Author's foreword: 

There aren't that many fanfics for this great game, and I've always disliked that fact. And it also caught my attention that some characters don't get enough attention (although they do _not_ deserve the attention). Sure, we see violent, knife-happy Edge. He fights. People in Rival Schools fight. I like that. But it's been done. By every single Rival Schools fanfic author I've seen. And I think its time for a totally new and bizarre idea to come into play. Edge, the star of the story. Okay, well, not _really_… but, yeah, essentially that's it. Of course, people can't stand his attitude for long. Have to change that, don't we? Edge… the star… getting tamed. You heard me right. Enter: a new character from who-knows-where. Love interest? Probably not at first. I mean, this is Edge we're talking about. Big blonde hair, only _half_ a decent looker (I say half because he's more handsome than the guys at my school are, and because the hair is just too much, really…). He'd probably pick a fight with this person rather than get close to them. (The motto of so many in this game. Sad, but true) who could this character be? It had to be a person, whom Edge could argue with, but not necessarily beat up and end the scene in fifteen seconds. That's where I run down a list of people Edge can't hit. 1) The elderly. Exception is the ancient masters of martial arts (Edge and a grandma? Don't think so.) 2) _Some_ relatives (ew… can you say "incest"?) and 3) the character I'm about to introduce and I can't tell you why he can't hit her because that would spoil her entrance. Oh, and don't think that I share Edge's chauvinistic ways. I'm a female. So, enjoy.

Italicized words: thoughts.

Chapter 1: She Came At Noon.

Edge ambled down a sidewalk; heading for home after a fight with some guy with a smart mouth who had thought his hair was strange. He happened to like his hair a lot. And anyone who didn't would regret telling him. Naturally, Edge had won the fight. The unfortunate fool had less experience than he did. His opponent had no style, no skill compared to him, one of the most dangerous people in Gedo High School. The only reason Edge had gotten a split lip from this wanna-be tough guy was because of a lousy, cheating sucker punch. 

"Stupid wimp," he muttered under his breath. He gingerly touched the ginger spot on his face and continued to say other profanities. After a few minutes, he looked up to tell the time of day and found the sun still in its late morning position. Why did it have to be so bright and cheery? He couldn't stand it. This was a worse morning, compared to his usual weekend mornings spent hanging out with Gan and the still-missing Daigo. 

He arrived home five minutes after it struck 12. The sun was still hot and bright. Only two more months before school ended and he'd welcome summer vacation. He fumbled with his keys for the door. His family lived in a decent apartment complex, with his family on the bottom floor. There was a second building no less than five feet away. It was also apart of the complex. Edge impatiently found the right key and inserted it into the lock. It would only take five minutes to eat lunch, and out again he would be to get a job that would last most probably three days before getting fired for his behavior, or lack of. 

There were voices within. He pressed his ear against the door. His parents had guests. It couldn't be his older brother or sister. His brother's car was not in the driveway and his sister was out of town. He hesitated before listening in through the door again. It sounded like those annoying neighbors next door, the Kishida couple. They were middle aged, very quaint and annoying as hell. Edge couldn't stand them—much like he couldn't stand many things.

His stomach grumbled. It wanted lunch, regardless of the company he'd have to keep while eating. Too bad for him he was too lazy to take the food out the door and eat while walking. He opened the door and stepped inside.

"Son!" his father greeted, a bit nervously. 'Son' was what he used, for he could not call him Eiji for fear of argument, and he could not bring himself to call him Edge or otherwise admit the truth to himself that Edge was as temperamental and troublesome as everyone at school said. His 'son' could care less. 

Edge kicked the door closed and casually moved towards the coffee table to pick up an unopened soda. The blonde purposely dragged his feet on the floor. His parents hated that. Then he popped the lid of his soda can and drank thirstily. Not until he was halfway done did he lower it from his lips.

"Son, you know the Kishidas," his mother gestured toward the couple seated at the small dining table a few feet off. The said couple smiled and waved. Edge snorted. They were both thin and had short black hair. Mr. Kishida wore a tie with a fish on it and Mrs. Kishida wore a white blouse with pink flower print. If they were any quainter, he swore he'd probably use their pots of flowers on their veranda for target practice. He'd taken a slingshot from an underclassman about a month ago and wanted to try it out.

"And we'd like you to meet their new guest," his mother continued in her common high pitched voice. "She's going to be staying with the Kishidas for a while. Her name is Rei Shimura," her mother introduced. "And Rei, this is… Edge."

He rolled his eyes and supposed he might as well see whom they were talking about so that if he had need to, he could yell at her by name. Rei sat tall, clearly not intimidated, in her seat on the far side of the dining table from him. From what he could see, she was wearing a long, light green summer dress that buttoned down the front. Her delicate hands rested on the table, neatly folded, as she had finished a triangle sandwich his mother had prepared for her. The newcomer also had a pleasant face with creamy skin and very dark brown hair. Her lips were full, not too full, but sensuous enough. But her dark brown eyes contradicted her soft face by being fiercely intelligent. She was blatantly beautiful. But Edge would die before he admitted it.

His father spoke up. "We were hoping that you could show her around the city and be her guide when she needs to go somewhere."

"Yeah, right," he scoffed.

His father turned away from his wife and guests and subtly patted his pocket, indicating silently without insult to the Kishidas that he would pay Edge. That changed things considerably.

"Well, I guess. But don't expect too much. You'll be disappointed." _A lot_, he added silently.

"That's fine," Rei said. Her voice was like her face, pleasant. But once again, there was that something that made it sound like she was used to short, witty phrases or something else intelligent of the type.

He grunted in response and stood up to go to his room upstairs. He tilted his head back as he drank the rest of his soda. The Kishidas and Rei also stood up. The youngest guest stepped carefully out from behind the table. His eyes widened. For a girl her age, she had a large belly. But that was very strange, because her limbs were somewhat slender. And then realization hit him like a sack of bricks.

"You're pregnant!" he exclaimed as he spat out his drink all over his parents. Their faces scrunched up. His father reached for napkins and handed him to his mother. Rei sighed with a bored expression.

"What do you know… he has eyes."

"Y-you're pregnant!" he said again, in disbelief. 

Rei smiled tartly. "Almost seven months."

"You're my age!"

She thought for a moment, unfazed or perturbed by his shouting. "From what your parents have told me, I'm just about two weeks younger than you."

Edge fell back onto the couch behind him and stared at her. He didn't have anything else to say.

"Well," Mr. Kishida began. "We should let Rei settle in. Perhaps you could show her someplace decent to eat this evening on your first tour."

He wanted to talk back to the neighbor, complaining of the situation, but once again, no words came to his lips. The Kishidas and Rei left, calmly as they had arrived. It was noon. His stomach grumbled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He sat in his room, staring at the ceiling. So, Rei Shimura was a pregnant teenage girl. He'd heard of them at his school. Guys boasted that they'd gotten the best of some over-trusting girl. Edge had never listened, mostly because he'd had other things on his mind… like getting into fights. Actually, he mostly avoided the topic of girls on purpose. Girls were all emotions and wimpy stuff. Weren't knives more interesting? 

Determined to pass the time, he drew an army knife from his inside jacket pocket and started tossing it up in the air. Edge expertly caught it by the blade and then by the handle, over and over. A lot of underclassmen were terrified of this trick when he casually did it at school. He liked scaring them.

The phone rang. He let it ring. It was most likely a call for his parents. Then it stopped. There was a holler from below. It sounded a little bit like his name, though the doors and walls muffled all understanding. Rolling onto his stomach, he lazily reached for his phone and picked up the receiver. "Yeah?"

"There's going to be a fight between Taiyo and Gorin High Schools. Akira wants to watch… wants to check them out for any information on Big Boss," Gan's deep voice said.

Edge scratched his head, under the purple band around his head. He glanced at the clock. 

"I'm there."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A ghost of a smile flickered across Edge's features as Roberto's fist met Batsu's face. He, Akira, and Gan stood in the middle of the throng of spectators, not looking to get noticed (though Edge desperately wanted to kick someone's butt, anyone at all… he wasn't picky). Dozens of taunts and calls for the two combatants echoed in his ears. Up went his adrenaline. Man! He felt like hitting something just to let this energy out. 

Gan and Akira were for the most part calm. They were willing to wait around patiently until all the fighters from each school had fought and spent their energy before pouncing on them to interrogate. Akira was dead set on always keeping order in their searches for information on Big Boss. Gan would go along with either Edge or Akira, he usually didn't choose. But this time, he chose the younger boy's choice of action.

The blonde, knife-wielding junior shifted from foot to foot, itching to lash out at something. He really had to start controlling these bursts if he ever wanted to get anywhere in life. But the thing was, he didn't. He couldn't care less about his future. Besides, weren't those smart old guys always saying 'live life _now_'?

He caught a glimpse of someone's watch. A reminder went off in his head.

"Aww, shit," he muttered.

"What?" Gan asked. 

"It's almost 6 o'clock. I have to do something. None of your stupid business, Gan."

Akira nodded. "Go on. You can leave."

"Like I need your permission, small fry," he replied. He never liked Akira. Something seemed wrong about the Big Boss's supposed little brother.

"Well, watch out. These punks from Taiyo and Gorin may hang around the area after the fight. You could run into them," Gan said, all of a sudden taking a wise approach. For a guy who never paid attention in class, he was pretty smart with everything else in the world.

Edge waved him off. "Yeah, yeah. I'm out of here."

He put his hands in his pockets and pushed his way through the crowd. From the other side of the fight, another student with red hair and a white jacket pushed his small intellectual looking glasses up the bridge of his nose. He narrowed his eyes at the departing figure, then turned back to the brawl.

That evening:

Edge pocketed some of the money his father had paid him in advance. He fidgeted in his black and gray attire-- essentially the same jacket and shirt, except in different colors-- meant to obscure him in the crowd beyond recognition, should anyone he knew brush by him. As for his hair, well, he couldn't help that. And ultimately, it was probably the one thing that would give him away. The irritated Gedo High School student walked next door. He paused before knocking.

Where the hell should I take her? It's not like any of the places I know are decent for a girl carrying a baby, he thought. Why did he have to agree to this? _Oh, that's right. I'm being paid. This must be one of the worst "jobs" I've ever had._

The door opened. Rei stood before him in a long blue dress, much like the light green one she'd worn earlier. Over that was a slightly overlarge jacket. Edge vaguely recognized it as belonging to Mrs. Kishida, from the times he did notice his neighbor. His eyes strayed briefly to her bulging middle, and automatically darted upwards. It was an awkward topic to talk about, and he didn't want to spark any words. Besides, all he had to do was show her around right? What did he care for her story?

But he couldn't help but be curious. Edge had never known anyone pregnant before. He had a feeling that there had to be special treatment for fragile future-mothers-to-be. And that put a damper in his mood. He didn't give people any special treatment. So she was going to have a baby. That wasn't an excuse.

"Where are we going?" she drawled, equally as bothered by the situation as he apparently was.

"Somewhere," he replied ambiguously. They walked down the quiet street toward more neon colored lights ahead.

Rei nodded. "You have no idea, do you?"

"None at all."

"Thought so."

He narrowed his eyes at her. His short temper flared. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She shot him the same look he gave her. "Nothing! I was just saying--"

"That I can't plan a night out? That I never know where I'm going? I'm a lost boy?" he clenched his fists. Then he forced himself to relax. "Damn it! This sucks so much. I can't even do much more than _yell_ at you, can I? Let alone fight you like everyone else!" He kicked the ground and picked up his pace, causing Rei to catch up to him.

"Hey, Mr. Temper, calm down. I didn't mean anything by it."

"Hmph," he huffed, putting his hands in his pockets. Nearly twenty minutes later, he nodded toward a diner up ahead. "There's your stupid fucking restaurant."

She folded her arms across her chest. "Stop with the language."

"I'll say whatever I want!" he loudly responded. 

"Fine, fine. Is the food here good?"

He shrugged. "Didn't eat the food. Worked there." _And got fired five days later_.

"Oh." 

They walked in silence until they reached the diner's door. Edge didn't bother opening the door for Rei, though she paused for him to do so. She glanced back at him thoughtfully and walked ahead to claim a table by the window. A few of the diner's patrons stared shamelessly at her, while a few whistled catcalls. They found it even funnier that she was pregnant as they did this. Edge had the strong urge to beat up the guys, but in doing so would show that he actually cared what they said. And he didn't. So he cursed some more under his breath, kicked the table leg of some random couple, and sat down across from Rei at the table she'd chosen. 

He leaned his chin on his palm, taking a knife out from his jacket, and carving something into the table's surface. She frowned at him. 

"Do you always carry knives?"

Edge looked up. "Do you always ask annoying questions?"

"Only when the person is annoying," she retorted, her eyes roaming over the stained paper menu on the table. A waitress came by, and took Rei's order. He noticed how the young girl was purposely avoiding looking anywhere but at Rei's eyes. It was pathetic what people would go through so as not to bring any embarrassment. However, Rei was not bothered at all. After the waitress left, she spoke up. "All the people who've met me divide up into two categories."

"Oh?" he asked, not really paying attention and still knifing the table.

"Yeah. People who resent me… and people who pity me."

"Wonder which one I am," he muttered sarcastically.

"Anyone who tries to be nice is really just pitying me," she said softly, trying not to get mad at the truth of the fact. "At least I know that _you_ don't pity me. I prefer resentment much more. It's easier to deal with."

He leaned back in his seat. "Then we have an understanding. I resent you. I hate this. I'd rather be home snacking on potato chips or something." He went on, still uncaring of her feelings. "If anyone here recognizes me, my fucking reputation will be at risk. And then I'll _really_ be pissed."

Rei glanced around them. "Do you have any friends who frequent this place?"

"No."

"Then don't worry about it."

"Aw, shut up," he spat and stabbed at the table. She simply rolled her eyes and drummed her fingers on her chin.

After four minutes of awkward silence, the waitress came back with Rei's food. She quickly set it down and went on her way to another table. Rei ate hungrily. She didn't spare a crumb.

__

Definitely eating for two, Edge thought as he looked up again from his unique table drawing. It was the skull on Big Boss's motorcycle helmet, or rather now Akira's helmet. It would be funny if anyone who next sat there thought that either of the Kazamas had made the mark. 

From across the diner, Gan and Akira stepped inside. 

"I know I saw that guy from Taiyo in here," Akira insisted.

"Are you sure?" Gan sighed.

Edge flinched upon hearing the two voices. He decided on a course of action that would kill two birds with one stone: escape from his friends' eyes and not having to deal with the bill "Are you done eating yet?"

She dabbed at her mouth with a napkin. "Yeah."

"Let's go."

He grabbed her hand and yanked her up. She let out a surprised sound as they glided past two other tables and out the alternate diner entrance. The waitress dropped her plate when she saw that, yelling at the two fleeing customers. The cook came from the kitchen and chastised her for the mess she'd made. 

Akira and Gan, still looking around, came to sit at a table that a bus boy was still busily wiping. 

"What was that all about?" the smaller teen asked.

Gan shrugged. He spotted something out of the corner of his eye. "Hey, isn't that a skull carved here on the table?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You asshole! What do you think you're doing!" Rei screamed at Edge as he pulled her after him, around the next corner. They were both out of breath. Rei's hands gently rested on her middle, unsure of how her body would take it. Satisfied that no damage had been done, she turned again to yell at her guide. "If you didn't have any money, you could just _tell_ me! Argh!"

He growled. "I _have_ money. Now just shut up! We're going home now. Unless her majesty," his words dripped of sarcasm, "wants to see any more of this loser place."

She hugged her jacket around her and shook her head. She decided not to provoke him to anger any more than if he already was. There was always a good chance she could get back at him later. Somehow. "No. Home it is."

Silence settled over them like a blanket once again as they walked. Haplessly, Edge had started heading in the other direction than from home. He didn't want to turn around and look like the lost boy she had inadvertently presumed him to be before, so he stuck to their direction. Rei, still unfamiliar with the surroundings, didn't notice. She blindly followed his lead.

When they finally reached her doorstep more than half an hour later, she didn't seem to want to complain. Her mood had turned different from when the night first started out. Who knew what was in her thoughts? He definitely didn't want to find out. It was probably girlish things, or stuff about the baby. 

It always came back to the baby when he considered her in his mind. And it would always come back to that. Even when she stood before him with those glowing flushed pink cheeks and downcast eyes. She was a really stunning girl, looking so appealing with her biting her lower lip.

"Yeah, um, good night," she said, breaking him out of his thoughts. She searched the jacket's right pocket to find the key that the Kishidas had given her. 

He shrugged his shoulders again, starting back down the steps. "Whatever."

"Thanks," she called back, trying to be polite.

He raised one hand to indicate he'd heard her, but not as much to indicate he cared. Rei nodded, disappointed for a reason she knew not, and went inside, yawning. Edge looked over his shoulder at the now shut door. He walked around the tiny fence that separated the two divisions of apartments. A light went on in a window on the second floor, facing his room's window. A girl's silhouette appeared. It was Rei.

Edge chose to ignore the coincidence and proceeded to his place, determined on eating something since he'd avoided eating at the diner. It was nearly 9 o'clock. His stomach grumbled. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author:

Okay, so a few people are out of character (I think… I didn't play the game too much. My friend helped me out. She's the obsessive here, not me.) As you can tell, well, I hope, I dropped you smack dab in the middle of the game's story line and threw the rest in for good measure. It comes into play later. I think I really failed at trying to center this on Edge and his thoughts without perceiving him to be different than from his game's character. Argh. 

Oh, and I don't know what happens in Japan to unintended pregnancies in teenage girls, so I'm setting it kind of against what I know in my society. Yeah. Okay. **If I offended anyone**, then don't read anymore. Just skip flaming me through reviews and go skip off on your merry way. This was a big experiment anyway. Just please, please, someone out there tell me what you think. I hate it when a lot of people read, and only three review. Happens all too much for my tastes.


	2. Public Places

An Unexpected Life2

An Unexpected Life

By Sulia Serafine

Disclaimer: I do not own the Rival Schools characters (darn). I'm not making any money off them. I'm doing this for entertainment purposes only. Original characters and plots belong to me. 

Author: I've decided to do some mixing and matching between different versions of Rival Schools. Expect Nagare to show up in later chapters. Also: after this one, Chapter 3 may take up to two weeks to get out because I must finish the season finale to one of my other non-RS fics. I really do apologize. With that said, enjoy the chapter, and remember to review after!

Chapter 2: Public Places

Rei Shimura sat slowly down onto her bed in the room the Kishidas had given her. They were nice folk, really, but their sugary sweet treatment for her only proved their pity. And she hated pity. Nevertheless, she had come to accept it from people. She was not long winded enough to argue and complain like she used to. It would be ill benefiting for her to lecture her hosts. Where else would she go-- an orphanage downtown… the hospital? It seemed like a good idea-- the hospital, but she'd already been down there. Not to find places to live from the social workers, but for the doctors. A respectful doctor, one of the few there who hadn't made her feel like a screw up, checked the health of the child inside her and when having asked her where the father was, she said he lived in a different city. Which was true. Then she said she would be joining him. Which was false.

The clock beeped. She looked over at the digital numbers. It was 4:00. Rei had spent the day cleaning the house for Mrs. Kishida, and then going through the newspaper Want Ads for anything… anything at all. A job, for when she was no longer pregnant, a baby sitter for the baby, someone selling used things… 'Used' and 'cheap' were all she owned and would ever own. The clothes she wore were used and cheap. Her belongings were used and cheap, and also very scarce. The young mother would have nothing more than the necessary on her dresser and in her drawers. The one drawer that she used was not even half full. 

Mrs. Kishida had offered to take her shopping. It was strange how a friend of a friend had introduced them. And if they hadn't met, Rei was mostly likely still to be hanging out at public places in her old city. So, she needed to buy some clothes. Cheap, used clothing was not hard to find. She had to get to a shopping center first. 

"Sun dresses," she muttered. "That's all I've been wearing ever since I couldn't fit into my pants."

There was a light rapping on the door.

"Rei? Are you awake?"

"Yes, Mrs. Kishida, I'm awake," Rei called back. She went over to the door and opened it. "Did you need something?"

The older woman chuckled. "I was about to ask the same of you."

"Oh, well… I'm fine."

Mrs. Kishida moved forward, touching Rei's sleeve. She made a clucking noise in her throat. "We really need to go shopping. Unfortunately, I cannot get a day off from my boss."

Rei shook her head. Her host was giving her that look again, that pitying look that she hated so much. They sat down on her bed about a foot apart from each other. "That's okay. I'm content with the clothing I have right now. Really."

"No, no. I'll give you some money. And then we'll have Edge come by and take you around. How does that sound?"

She froze. Edge? The guy with one foot tall blonde spiky hair and horrible attitude? Not to mention-- he loved to get into fights and use knives. Rei scratched the back of her neck uneasily. He was really disagreeable, very short tempered. All her usually clever remarks earned her squat with this guy. Her ears could remember the yelling they'd received a week before. 

Rei coughed gently before answering. "I don't mean to be rude, but is there anyone else who could take me?"

"I'm sorry, my dear. My husband and I don't have that many friends who live near us. The Yamadas are great people though, and Edge is… fine. He's just fine." The drop in her cheeriness when she said Edge's name did not reassure Rei in the slightest. As she went on, she only deepened the Rei's anxiety. "The teenagers in this neighborhood from the local Gedo High School aren't the friendliest of people. I'm afraid Edge can be your only companion, with me being a aged woman."

"Oh, you're not that old," Rei laughed. "I love your company, Mrs. Kishida." _A lie justly deserved from someone who continually pities me and treats me like a child._

Mrs. Kishida sighed. "Well, it's not like I can turn back the hands of time and gain my youth back. I'm happy. And I'm glad you like having me around." She patted Rei's shoulder. "But we should really get you to the shopping center. Edge should be coming home from school any moment now."

"It's really okay. I don't have to—"

"No, no. You're going. That's my final say on it." She stood up. "I'll go get my purse. And after that, I'll call and ask Mrs. Yamada for Edge. Now, you just stay put like a good little girl--"

__

Did she just say "good little girl?" The corner of Rei's mouth twitched.

"--I can't believe you did all those chores while I was at work! I would have you done nothing in your state, dear."

__

You could have mentioned that earlier. It would have been so much easier being a freeloading, good-for-nothing guest. The world would be a better place, Rei thought. Even in her thoughts, sarcasm reigned supreme. She didn't mean to think it, but sometimes her head just started to hurt and the world was a little too stressful for the likes of her. Naturally, Rei was a kind hearted, generous person. But indeed, since she'd become pregnant, she'd seen sides of herself that she never knew existed. 

Mrs. Kishida peered at her, concerned. Rei forced a smile. Satisfied, the older woman left. When the door closed, Rei let out a deep breath that she had been unintentionally holding. 

Now she had to deal with Edge again. The first encounter was quite enough. Being pulled out of diner just when she'd finished eating had not been good on her stomach. It was a strange sensation to feel the liquids slosh around in your belly when being jounced about. Maybe it would not be like last time. After all, they would just go to the shopping center.

"In public, where people can whisper about me as I walk past. Oh, this is going to be loads of fun," she murmured. "I wonder what those people really think of me. 'Oh, that girl must have slept around. Why don't we make her feel more insecure and unwanted, that little tramp.' Yup. Something like that."

And then, she wondered what her 'companion' (only companion, most likely) would say. Oh, wait. She already knew. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flashback:

He leaned back in his seat. "Then we have an understanding. I resent you. I hate this. I'd rather be home snacking on potato chips or something." He went on, still uncaring of her feelings. "If anyone here recognizes me, my fucking reputation will be at risk. And then I'll _really_ be pissed."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Aww, what are the odds that anyone he knows would see him with me?" she asked herself in a confident tone. She rubbed her hands together, a habit she'd had forever. Guys were hard to deal with, most often times. They were either deceptive or bitter, in her experience. But, she understood that good men existed. Just nowhere near her. On a whole, the men in her life were awful.

They took her for advantage. They didn't think that she could match them in strength, or ability. They treated her like a weak, demure flower that needed to be protected. She didn't need to be protected. She needed someone to hold her back from unleashing her anger on the masculine sex. Her life hadn't been one of the best. She knew a lot of her mistakes were really just that—_her_ mistakes, and no one else's. But men had not made it any easier to bare them and learn from them.

She lifted up her sleeve to look at a two-inch scar on her shoulder. It was still there. Did she actually expect it to disappear? It would always be there to serve as a reminder of her worst decisions. Those and other marks would survive to tell the tale. Rei rubbed her temples.

"Guys…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edge walked from his locker to the front of the school where Gan and Akira would be waiting. There was lightness to his steps. He was in a good mood, thanks to the defeat of some guy in his math class. The boy had made a dire mistake of commenting on Edge behind his back. The boy didn't know that Edge had heard all and was standing right behind him. The others listening to him knew. They watched the short-tempered blonde approach with hopeful glints in their eyes, not having seen a fight all day. And they could always count on Edge to bring them a good fight.

"Another one?" Gan instantly said when he saw his friend approaching.

"Hey, it's Friday. Thought I should get one more bit of fun in before the weekend." He broke out into a toothy grin. Gan could tell even before Edge reaffirmed his thoughts. He could always tell. But at the same time, Gan disapproved of the fight. They'd spent a lot of time with Daigo trying to calm things down in Gedo HS. And it was all for naught. Sure, Gan fought. He liked to. Often, he loved to. But sometimes, it would get him to think of what Daigo was trying to do. And that just took the joy right out of it.

"If only Big Boss were here," Gan said a little quieter, bringing a nod of Akira's helmeted head.

That caused Edge's good mood to fly out the door. The constant reminder that Daigo was still missing. The fights had only worsened since he left. The Big Boss was the one responsible for keeping the school's order, and only he seemed to possess the patience and the strength to make students follow him.

The trio walked out the doors, past the random groups of students that assembled themselves in front. Someone had a stereo on full blast. The music was so loud that Edge's head throbbed in beat with the tune. 

"I found out why they were fighting on Saturday. Taiyo got attacked a while ago and sought questions from Gorin first," Akira said, breaking the silence that had formed between them. The Big Boss's younger brother did not talk much. There was always some hesitance, and something odd about his voice. It probably shamed the boy, the other two figured.

Gan scratched his chin. "Hmm… That sounds about right. If Gorin had to blame anyone for their attack, they'd accuse us first. It had to have been Taiyo to make the first move."

"So they were attacked, too?" Edge's eyes widened. "Damn! What the hell is going on?!" A growl escaped his throat. "We're probably next…" Here he clenched his fists. "If it really happens, trust me, I'll be the first to do something about it! The sorry losers are going to wish they'd never been born!"

"Calm down, Edge. I don't think they'd attack a tough school like this. Nearly everyone here can hold their own."

"Not against _us_," the blonde said devilishly. 

Akira turned toward the line of bikes at the side of the building. There was his bike in the second row. No one dared touch it. Word had spread around fast after his arrival, about his supposed relation with Big Boss. Though Daigo was missing, his name continued to instill some sort of awe or fear in them. "I might go down to listen in on the Taiyo students and the Gorin students. They meet to discuss their attacks. Coming?"

"Aww… Need an escort, Small Fry?" Edge laughed. He'd never really called Akira Small Fry, but the more he did it, the more it seemed to fit. What else was he supposed to call him? Little Boss?

Akira looked ready to defend his pride. But Gan spoke. "I'll go. Edge, what do you say?"

"Nah, going to grab some food at home first. If I feel like it, I'll show up. Where are they meeting?"

"The shopping center," Akira supplied. 

"It's amazing what one can learn while eavesdropping," Gan commented.

Edge snorted. "Girls' idea, isn't it? Shopping? Feh. Girls…" He tugged at his jacket collar. "Good for nothing but some fun in your spare time. And even then, not much more then to breed men, eh?"

Akira bristled for some reason, his fingers twitching at his sides. Gan's eyes widened imperceptibly. What was this?

Then the offending boy yawned. "Yeah, well, see you guys around. Have fun spying, Small Fry. Big Fry."

"Very funny," Gan rolled his eyes, pretending he hadn't noticed the youngest boy's reaction to Edge's earlier words.

They separated again. The knife collector was vexed that Gan had joined Akira again instead of his best friend. Gan had become increasingly concerned with Daigo's whereabouts, and Edge supposed that was okay. But he wanted to go out and fight, and bring Gan along with him like he always did. The guy was good for fights, either support or double team. 

It didn't take long for him to get home. A dog barked from an open apartment window somewhere above. There was a fire escape and a main hall on the other side that everyone used. As the sound of the animal got closer, he realized that it was in fact going down the fire escape toward him. The shadow of the little dog came around the corner of the building. Edge went inside and slammed the door before it could get any closer.

"Security mutt. What a riot," he said to himself and shuffled over to the kitchen. His backpack remained discarded in the corner where it had been all week. Some teachers still tried to teach things to the students of Gedo High School. Some students were still willing to learn. And they did. But not Edge. He had all the common knowledge he'd need. Fighting was his life. And that was that.

The phone rang. He ignored it and opened the fridge to grab something to drink. No more soda. He settled for a sports drink. The phone continued to ring. He yelled for someone else to answer it. The phone continued on ringing. No one was home but him. With a growl of irritation, he angrily picked up the phone. "Yeah, what?"

"Edge! Just the boy I need to speak to," Mrs. Kishida's voice floated over the receiver. "Could you please take Rei to the shopping center? She needs clothes. The poor thing doesn't own much. I already called your parents at work. Your father is going to compensate you for the time that you would have been spending doing homework."

__

Homework? He laughed mentally. The woman continued.

"So that's settled then. Thank you so much, dear boy."

__

I don't recall being asked, he thought. Without responding, he hung up. _What a nut case! I wonder if she'll crack one day from all her perkiness. I could see it happening. Someone will burst her little bubble of happiness and it'll be a nervous breakdown. _The thought appealed to him very much. _Anyone who calls me 'dear boy' deserves it._

He finished his drink and threw the bottle in the trash. A little voice in his head that was long neglected told him to put it in recycling. He didn't. Edge then went upstairs to his room. It was the epitome of messy rooms. Wrinkled clothes were strewn about the floor, except for an area in front of his closet where he sometimes practiced moves. There was a pull-up bar in the closet doorway, and posters of action movies he'd collected when he was about 12. In one corner in three, stacked milk crates were things he'd confiscated from underclassmen (or things they'd thrown at him while fleeing for their pathetic lives). Thinking of them put a smirk on his face. No matter what Daigo did, he couldn't help Edge to a point where he stopped fighting completely.

Without shifting his attention to it, he slipped off his shoes by stepping on the back of one shoe heel with the other's toe. Next, he kicked them into the corner and lied down on his bed. As an afterthought, he took of his jacket, complete with most of his knives. 

With his hands folded behind his head, he fell asleep. Dreams of sharp blades filled his blonde head. Outrageous fights in the most ridiculous of places also found their way into his subconscious. Fifteen minutes later, Rei entered the room. She immediately saw his sleeping form on the bed. 

__

Looks a whole lot more peaceful than when he is awake. And definitely not as dangerous, she thought. But she figured he had to wake up eventually. After all, Mrs. Kishida expected her to come home with more to fill that single large drawer that she occupied. So, Rei tiptoed forward and touched his arm.

His hand darted out from behind his head and clamped down around her wrist. She let out a little cry of surprise and tried to jerk away, but he held fast. Edge opened his eyes lazily still, and looked at her questioningly. "How did _you_ get in here?"

She gulped a little. "You left the door unlocked." 

He searched his memory. Finding that he did, Edge let go of her and sat up, ruffling his own hair. Rei tenderly felt her wrist. He had a strong grip, but not like others who'd gripped her harder and more painfully. She cleared her throat to catch his attention.

"Yeah, what?" he asked gruffly while picking up his jacket off the floor and shrugging it on. 

"It's almost 5:00. You slept a long time."

"And I suppose you've been hanging out here a long time before deciding to wake me up, huh?" he said.

"I figured Sleeping Beauty needed his beauty sleep," she retorted. They glared at each other a little before Rei lost interest and pretended like the words were never said. He put his shoes on, still muttering to himself. She wondered what kept him from yelling at her like he did last time. They left his house and called a taxi. There was no way that Edge was going to walk all the way to the shopping center. And that went double for Rei.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rei examined the clothes on the rack before her, all the while aware of the eyes of other customers set on her age and physical state. 

"I just love it when people stare, don't you?" she said in a dull tone. She picked an airy yellow blouse and showed it to her companion. He snorted and tried to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. It had been horrible enough when they went into the maternity department an hour before. Already, he had three shopping bags to carry. There was a big urge to hurl them down the escalator nearby the store window. 

It wasn't that his charge with being unpleasant. Rei had made many efforts to befriend him. Well, aside from her witty remarks that tended to put him in his place. How did a girl like her get a tongue like that? She hung the blouse back up and evaluated the rest of her possible choices. Finding nothing to her true liking, she resigned herself and turned to Edge.

"I've gotten everything practical I need. Let's go to the food court. I'm hungry."

"I'm not your servant. Don't order me around," he barked, following her out and bowing his head. He was conscious of all the stares that they received. People could tell that they were teenagers. And one with a baby and the other carrying groceries was all too good an indication that-- _Aww, this sucks. This really, really sucks_. _People mistake me for the father and actually come up to me asking that, I'll punch their lights out._

Rei smiled at his discomfort. "Welcome to my world."

"Don't you ever just want to curse people out for staring?" he asked with hints of hostility in his voice.

She nodded. "Yeah. I got used to it. It was worse when I was alone." She paused and started laughing. "Now that I have you here with me, it's not so bad. Now you can share in on the shame."

"That's not funny," he grated.

Her expression softened. "Really. It is better that I'm not alone because they assume early marriage. Not that I'd marry anyone, but if everyone else thinks that, then it's kind of easier to accept than pregnancy out of wedlock. You do know that kids leave school early to marry, right? People actually do this."

"They're moronic shit-heads then."

__

Didn't know he knew the word 'moronic', she thought. They arrived at the food court. "I'll pay then, to make up for your hurt feelings."

"Stop with the sarcasm," he practically hissed. "And I can pay, thank you very much."

"Ah, so he actually pays for his food. I keep thinking we're going to flee the food court like we did the diner," she said, chuckling. He glared at her.

"Just sit down and shut up, okay?" he paused and glanced around him at the different food franchises with their neon signs and crowds of people. "What do you want?"

One hand unconsciously strayed to her stomach. She bit her lip. "Hmm… You choose for me."

"Fine." He got up to go stand in line. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Natsu Ayuhara noticed that Hinata wasn't paying attention to what Batsu and Kyosuke were talking about. She followed her gaze and still couldn't figure out what she was looking at. Finally she tapped her shoulder and made a small coughing sound.

"Oh! Sorry," Hinata whispered. She blushed and turned back in her chair. "There's this pretty girl over there, but she's…"

"What about a pretty girl?" Shoma Sawamura joined in on the whisperings.

"Forget it," she shook her head. "So, when are we going over to check out the other schools?"

"As soon as this weekend. It depends on who's free to go," Batsu replied. His mother was missing. Who knew how she fared? He knew he was going. Whether or not anyone went with him didn't matter. He'd do this all alone if he had to. But these new acquaintances of his seemed dedicated. Kyosuke didn't display too many of his emotions, but he had good intentions. After all, the guy was on the Morals Committee, wasn't he? Hinata was angry about what happened to the students of Taiyo HS who couldn't protect themselves against the attackers. Shoma wanted to avenge his brother and Natsu her juniors. And as far as Batsu knew, Roberto was adamant on helping his friends.

"Should we split up? I mean, the schools are far apart, and we'd probably only reach one in one day," Shoma suggested.

"Yeah. Sounds good."

Hinata eyes lit up. "Who wants to go to Tamagawa- Minami High School? Maybe they know something."

"Isn't that a bit far?" Natsu frowned.

The shorter girl shrugged. "Then we'll go next Friday. I can call Sakura in the mean time. What other High Schools are closer?"

Kyosuke pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I've been meaning to check out Gedo High School. And it is closer by than Tamagawa-Minami."

Roberto flinched. He touched the brim of his visor and tugged it a little farther down to hide his eyes. It was a rare that he spoke in such moved terms. "No way. You Taiyo students can check that place, but I'm afraid the rest of us wouldn't be able to talk with Gedo before we let our fists do the talking for us."

"What is it between Gedo and Gorin?" Hinata pouted

"Don't know," Shoma answered. "It's just always been that way. Right, Roberto?"

"Right."

"Right, Natsu?"

"Right, Shorty."

"Hey--"

The soccer goalie stopped Shoma before he could go on. He glared at both of his friends, and then nodded for Shoma to continue on topic. The baseball player folded his arms across his chest. "But it wouldn't surprise me if they were behind this. A bunch of trouble makers always are… and will always be."

From behind the divider of the food court, separating sections of tables, Akira and Gan listened in on the conversation. Akira was plenty peeved, but Gan wouldn't know since he could not see past the motorcycle helmet. Akira started to slink away from the table, keeping his head low as he passed the potted plants that topped the section divider, but Gan grabbed his arm and bade him with a look to stay. 

"The school won't be open this weekend. No one's going to be there. Why don't we just wait until Monday?" Hinata asked. 

Batsu narrowed his eyes. "We can go around the local neighborhoods. Time is not to be wasted." He stood up. "I can assure you, I'm not going to wait around."

"Calm down, Batsu! Ease up a bit. Okay, so I'll go with you. Kyosuke?" she looked hopefully at the red haired boy.

"I shall go."

"Great! Then we'll visit the school on Monday. Umm… What about the rest of you?"

"We'll be researching the other schools and keeping in touch," Natsu said, representing herself and her companions. The group started to break off into random groups, chattering amongst themselves and deciding to take the rest of the day off. Natsu and Hinata headed for a department store. Just as Batsu was going to exit the shopping center altogether, Roberto and Shoma caught sight of him and dragged him along with them to the sports stores. Kyosuke disappeared before the guys could find him and bring him along as well. 

When they were completely out of range, Akira stood up and removed Gan's hand from his arm. "So, we'll get Edge and stake out the neighborhood tomorrow?"

"Sounds fine to me. When should we confront them?"

"What exactly do we have to confront them about? They obviously don't know anything more than we do about the attackers. All we can do is watch them and hope they lead us to my bro-- hey!"

The bigger teenager frowned. "What?"

Akira parted the leaves of the plants and squinted. "Is that Edge?"

"He did say he might show up."

"Yeah, but I didn't know he had a girlfriend."

Gan looked over Akira's shoulder. "He doesn't have one. What are you talking about?"

"Over there."

The larger teen saw Edge sitting down at a small table. He sat with one arm casually draped over the back of the chair and his legs spread straight out. The knife wielder yawned, and picked at some junk food on his tray. The girl across from him had beautiful dark hair. It looked like silk as it cascaded around her shoulders. There was a combination of innocence and intelligence in her that was obvious to Akira. It was also clear that she was with child.

Gan withdrew from the plants. The two sat down again. Neither glanced at each other. The same unbelieving thoughts ran through their minds.

"So Mr. I-Don't-Have-Time-For-Girls has a girl," Gan stated.

"And he's knocked her up."

"You know, she looks pretty big. He must've met her last year…"

Akira nodded. 

"So, you spy on your own, too."

The two Gedo HS students froze. They turned around. Kyosuke stood in front of them, his eyes narrowed into slits as he looked from one to the other. Akira jumped to his feet, clenching a fist in preparation for battle.

"I don't want to fight you. Not here," the boy wearing the white jacket said. He spotted Edge again from far away. "I can understand why you spy on us. You're either behind all of it, or it's happened to you as well. But spying on your 'friend'…"

"How do _you_ know he's our friend?" Gan challenged.

"I saw you on Saturday."

Akira relaxed. There was no use trying to hide it. "It's not like that. We're just trying to get to the bottom of these attacks, okay? Whoever attacked your school may be responsible for my older brother's disappearance."

"How do I know that?" Kyosuke asked. "It could just be a ruse to trick me into trusting you." He caught a glimpse of the food court's clock. "I suppose I should be on my way."

"Yeah, why don't you get out of here," Gan said with malice in his voice.

Kyosuke gave a slight bow. "I will. But not before I bid goodbye to your accomplice and his lady friend."

Before they could stop them, he marched around the divider and to the table where Edge and Rei sat. Akira and Gan followed close behind, watching words being exchanged between them. Edge leapt to his feet, a snarl on his face. Rei gasped and said something to calm him down to no avail. It was when the blonde had Kyosuke by the collar that the undisturbed Taiyo student coolly gestured to Gan and Akira over his shoulder. 

"Damn it! So you guys were _spying_ on me? What the fuck is this about?!" Edge roared. 

"Not so loud! Are you crazy?" Rei scolded. "Sit down, for goodness' sake." She apologized to Kyosuke, who was brushing himself off. "I'm so sorry, uh…"

"Kyosuke. Kyosuke Kagami."

"Well, I'm Rei Shimura. I hope you forgive Edge--"

"Like I need his stupid forgiveness!" Gan and Akira now held him back. But then Edge realized it was his comrades who he was angry about and shook free of them. "Wait a second, you two were spying on me!"

The two other boys winced. They had been spying on them. Gan shrugged his shoulders in a helpless way. "We had just finished watching the others--"

"That reminds me. I guess I should be expecting you to join us tomorrow, yes?" Kyosuke said as he walked away. His exit was ignored by only Edge, whose face was turning red with fury. Rei leaned her chin on her palm, calmly watching the spectacle before her. For once, it was the guys whom everyone in the place was staring at and not she. 

"Hey, dude, you never told us you had a girlfriend," Gan inserted.

Edge's mouth dropped open. "Her! She's not my girlfriend! She's my next door neighbor!"

"Oh, like you expect us to believe that."

"For someone who hates nearly everyone, it seems odd that you've accompanied her to the mall," Akira added.

"Oh, shut up, Small Fry, don't make me hurt you!" He cracked his knuckles. 

Gan came in between them. "Hey, stop this. Okay, Edge, we misunderstood. Fine. She's not your girlfriend, but man, you've got some explaining."

"Why do I have to explain myself to anyone? I'm my own man and I'll do whatever I want whenever I want."

Rei coughed. "Excuse me, boys?"

"Stay out of this," Edge hissed.

"Sorry, but I'm pretty sure fighting will get you banned from the shopping center, and I'd actually like to come back in the future." Seeing that none of the three boys were budging, she got up and placed a hand on Gan and Edge's shoulders. "You can talk about this later. Honestly! Edge, please take me home." She turned and gestured for him to follow with the shopping bags.

"You say that girls aren't worth your attention, and here you are taking one around," Akira muttered as they departed.

She threw a look over her shoulder and said, "Well, at least it proves he has some social life, as opposed to spending his afternoons spying on people and getting shown up by a," she paused for melodramatic effect, " a _girl_."

A rare, genuine smile crossed Edge's features as he looked back on his dumbfounded friends. She had wit, and knew how to use it like a polished sword. Maybe hanging out with her wouldn't be so bad after all. It would never be boring, he was sure. Now if only he could learn to be that sharp with words, he might get more underclassmen to fear him…

In the taxi on the way home, he reflected on the afternoon's events. Edge said aloud, "I hate public places."

Rei watched him from the corner of her eye. "Well, then we finally agree on something, Knife-Boy."

"Don't push it."

"Just watch me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author: I've decided to do some mixing and matching between different versions of Rival Schools. Expect Nagare to show up in later chapters. Also: after this one, Chapter 3 may take up to two weeks to get out because I must finish the season finale to one of my other non-RS fics. I really do apologize. With that said, enjoy the chapter, and remember to review after! Reviews are cherished, and they are the sole reason I keep writing. So review! 


	3. Development

An Unexpected Life3

An Unexpected Life

By Sulia Serafine

Disclaimer: I do not own the Rival Schools characters (darn). I'm not making any money off them. I'm doing this for entertainment purposes only. Original characters and plots belong to me. 

Author: I've decided to do some mixing and matching between different versions of Rival Schools. Expect Nagare to show up in later chapters. Oh… and remember when I said this chapter would be out after chapter 2 in two weeks? You must have guessed by now that it took longer than that. I'm sure many of you can sympathize on how much high school sucks-- especially final exams and whatnot. 

Also: expect some OOC (out of character) moments. They're bound to happen. Yes, even to me. I apologize for delaying this chapter. In truth, I'm not sure when I'll get Chapter 4 done. But I try every spare moment I have. I wouldn't dream of leaving this unfinished. With that said, enjoy the chapter, and remember to review after! All reviews are cherished and put on a shelf of pride.

Chapter 3: Development

Some short time later:

Edge flipped through the channels on his family's television, more restless than he'd ever been in his whole entire life. Normally, he would be hanging out with Gan and Akira, but he was technically still 'mad' with them. His anger had subsided and lain to rest, but his pride wouldn't allow him to go back so soon and make peace. Growling in acute frustration, he threw the remote on the floor and buried his face in the soft cushion of the sofa that he was stretched out upon.

Then he heard knocking. 

He lifted his head so he could see out the window and view the visitor. No such luck. With a heavy sigh, he got up, purposely kicking the sofa and mumbling profanities as he approached the door.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming," he said and swung open wide the door. He blinked. "Oh. It's just you."

Rei stood there. The expression on her face and the fidgeting of her feet indicated that she didn't want to be there. Edge wondered why she didn't just go back home if that was the way that she felt. He turned his back on her and dragged himself back to the couch. She stood hesitatingly at the threshold, looking in on the house that she'd not been in but two times. 

"Hi," she said a bit late. The blonde youth had already settled back into his old position with his face upturned the ceiling this time. She spoke a little louder. "I was bored, so I thought I'd come over to hang out." She walked around and sat down in an armchair.

He rolled onto his back. "No." Strangely enough, his face took on a contemplating expression. He finally found the words in his mind and proceeded to speak. "No, if I know anything, you were bored and _Mrs. Kishida_ thought you should come over to hang out. Damn nosy woman, can't leave either of us alone." He flung an arm over his eyes and feigned becoming drowsy. "I don't care what you do. Just don't touch the potato chips and the soda."

She frowned. He'd guessed right about Mrs. Kishida urging her to visit, but his attitude about it seemed even more negative than it should have been. "Is something wrong?"

"Wrong? What makes you think anything is fucking wrong?" he snorted and turned on his side, snuggling into the sofa even further.

__

Well, for one thing, He's being rude but passive. He should be more… violent than this. Rei smirked at the thought. She headed toward the kitchen, wanting the potato chips in a sudden urge to defy him. "Nothing. And don't curse. It's so vulgar."

"I'll fucking curse as much as I fucking want," he replied loudly. "Now go away."

She reached into the food pantry and attained the crinkled bag of chips. "Do you have any dip?"

Edge peeked out from under his forearm. "Say what?"

"I asked if you had any dip for the chips," she repeated, firmer in voice so he could not mistake her sentence.

He got up from the sofa and stalked into the small kitchen. "I already told you not to-- Hey! Stop eating that! I was going to eat those for dinner!"

"American potato chips solely for dinner? Your taste has gone down the drain, hasn't it?" she commented wryly as she continued to snack on his food. "For starters, get yourself some rice. Or maybe some ramen if you don't want too heavy of a meal. Miso soup?"

Out of habit, he reached into his jacket for something sharp to threaten her with. She raised her eyebrows, reminding him with a look of what he could _not_ do. He withdrew his hand, dropped it to his side, and left the kitchen. 

"Hey!" Rei frowned. She moved forward, the hem of her dress caught on a chair. She set down the chips and wiped her hands on a napkin before reaching down to un-snag the fabric. "I could make dinner, if you'd let me."

She could hear him snort all the way from the living room. The television's volume had been turned up as well. 

"You'd probably try to poison me," he called back.

"I would not. Besides, I need to cook or else I'll forget all my recipes. Then where would I be when I'm back on my own?" Her dress now free, she walked out of the kitchen, leaving the chips forgotten on the plain wooden table. "Are you purposely trying to tune me out?" she asked, beguiled. 

He didn't answer.

She nodded. Rei began to approach the stairs. "Oh. I see. Well, maybe I should go up to your room, get Akira and Daigo's phone numbers, and they can join us for dinner. How does that sound?"

"Stop it! Fine, cook! Burn the kitchen down! Pour in some freaking arsenic!" he spat. He folded his arms. At that moment, the young woman could not believe how like a child he resembled. Edge's cheeks were puffed out, his face a bit pink. His hands tucked under his armpits and his shoulders hunched as he sat staring straight ahead at the television. He did not even make a move for the remote, though he was watching something he'd rather not endure. He just stood still, his nostrils flaring out as he breathed.

"Uhm-hmm," Rei said. "Definite child. It makes me feel like I'm the responsible adult for once."

~~

Akira took off her helmet now that she was in the safety of her own home. She shook her short hair free of the stifling confines of the disguise and pinched the bridge of her nose in modest signs of her exhaustion. There had to be some other way of hanging with the guys without wearing the helmet the whole time. The smaller Kazama sibling approached an antique mirror in the hallway and examined herself.

Her features were very nondescript. Her nose was small, but not petite. Her chin was the same. Her eyes could very well be feminine-- they _were_ but she didn't want to think of them that way-- but the way she always stared at people and lowered her lids to fake disinterest hid that sufficiently. Maybe if she trimmed her hair a bit more, she could go without the helmet. It would be a welcome comfort to her very stressful life.

Stress was dealt with in many ways. The motorcycle needed constant attention. When not worrying about her brother's well being, there was taking care or simple menial tasks around the house. Some people would call chores stressful, but it occupied her mind and drove off the little tiny voice that whispered her insecurities to her.

"Give me one day where I don't have to pretend to be a guy," she murmured to an unseen presence as she took milk from the refrigerator and poured it into a glass. Oddly, the simple action reminded her of Daigo again. Her brother drank straight from the carton whenever he asked Akira if she wanted some milk and she refused. Now, she drank milk. She almost never drank milk before that. And she did a lot of things she had not done before. 

Hanging out with Gan and Edge was one of these things. Or rather, hanging out with the large teenager since Edge had been busy hanging out with his 'neighbor'. Akira still didn't believe it. Someone of Edge's personality wouldn't hang out with a pregnant young woman. It would all make sense if Edge had lied and _did_ have something to do with it.

"Stop that," she scolded herself. _Why do I even care?_ _What's his business is exactly that. His business._ Akira Kazama, the 'little brother' or truly little sister of the Big Boss couldn't believe what she was thinking. If she didn't know any better, she might have thought she was jealous.

__

Jealous? She rolled her eyes and decided to think about something else.

The student from Taiyo, Kyosuke Kagami, was truly an enigma. He was always cool and collected whenever she saw him. Even when Edge had him by the shirt with a shiny blade in his hand. Even when she and Gan had ended up going to intercept the Taiyo High School students at the neighborhoods surrounding Gedo, though Kyosuke knew, he did not point them out to his companions. He merely regarded them from a distance and walked past.

__

I've got to get into that guy's head. There's something different about him I can't put my finger on. Kyosuke Kagami… what's your motive?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"… And it's really a shame." Amazingly, Edge had remained docile enough to let her start a conversation. They were only bantering. He reasoned with himself that it wouldn't hurt his reputation. It wasn't like Gan and Akira was spying on him right at that moment. 

Rei set her chopsticks down and peered curiously at her next door neighbor. "So, what do you think of the food?"

"It's okay," he shrugged. In reality, it had been the best ramen he'd ever tasted, but she didn't need to know that. He pushed the drained bowl towards her and coughed gently. "You're not really going to call Gan and Akira over here, are you?"

She thought for a moment. "Hmm…no. No, I don't think so. If you behave, that is."

"Right," he muttered sarcastically. 

She started to get up. "Do you mind washing the dishes while I dry them?"

His eyes widened in disbelief. "You're kidding me. I don't do dishes! You're out of your freaking mind, if you think you can get me to do _chores_." 

Rei scrutinized his adamant mien. If she tried to blackmail him again with threats of inviting Akira and Gan, he would never become more civil with her. He'd resent her forever. And contrary to some impressions made upon the Yamada household, she did want a friend. Even if it meant someone as uncouth as he was. She was desperate for company.

__

Beggars can't be choosers, she reminded herself.

"What if I… cooked again tomorrow? Your parents are still out late working, right?"

"My brother and sister might be home," he lied. What in the world was she getting at? He didn't want her around. Sure, her cooking was fantastic, but he wanted to be alone. He was going to wait until Gan and Akira came up to apologize to him, and then he could go out again.

She nodded. "Well, I'll cook for them too."

"Maybe my parents will be home from work."

"Maybe your mother can show me some recipes."

"Maybe Gan and Akira will have apologized by then and the three of us will be hanging out at the corner store instead of at here."

"Then maybe that means you're eager to forgive them and you're a softie after all." 

He opened his mouth to retort back at her, but no words came out.

"I'll take that as an 'okay, Rei, please cook for me tomorrow'," she said and got up. 

Moments later, Edge found himself submissively washing dishes, wondering how in the world she had managed to trick him into this. He really had to learn this way of words that she had. From the very few times he'd spent with her, there was always something she could say that provoked him to say exactly what she was expecting. It was frustrating.

Rei watched him from the corner of her eye. The terry cloth was purple. It was odd how it matched Edge's jacket. She was going to comment about it, but decided he'd probably think her crazy. 

They continued to clean the dishes and the others that his parents had left behind. They picked up where they left off on their random topic conversation. She found that mentioning action movies and professional fighting circuits around Tokyo got his attention pretty well and held it there for her. Whether Edge knew it or not, his whole face lit up with a quiet enthusiasm when she mentioned that she used to watch kickboxing matches.

"Maybe I could show you some time."

He frowned. "Would they even let you in now that you're…"

She had her head bowed down to look at the dishes she was drying. "I'd find a way. I was a regular down there. It wouldn't be much more than a couple of bus rides from here." Rei stared at him straight. "Would you come if I invited you?"

"Maybe. Probably not," he replied. _I'd give anything to go see a good fight! Never considered kickboxing, but a fight's a fight._ He noted the irony in his own thoughts and the words he said aloud. _I have to be a hypocrite because I'm trying not to be friends with her. Damn it. I guess I should say no to her offer. A shame, too._

"Are you sure? You could bring some of your friends if you wanted. I could disappear into the background once we got there. I'd be okay, you know." A bittersweet smile appeared on her face. "The last time I went was when my condition was starting to show. The people down at the ring are really honest and candid. They tell me when they're bothered by me. Better than whispers by people trying to be nice when they're furtiveness only makes it worse." There was a pause. "The bouncers are nice. They have kids. They'd look after me."

"Oh." He nodded. What else was he supposed to do? He scratched his nose, then his head. She made him nervous. He would admit that much to himself. He continued to listen while running his hands under the water. 

"If I take you there, we don't have to hang out. We can hang out here at your house. I'm not needy. I don't need company all the time," she shrugged helplessly, trying to coax some good response out of him. She had finished with the dishes now, but her gaze remained locked on the counter space in front of her. 

She was getting sentimental. He could tell. His automatic defense went up.

"Well, that's good. No way I could hang around with you in that big a place. Probably think we were a couple, and then I'd be pissed. It's enough I have to take time out of my freaking schedule to chill around here every afternoon."

__

That asshole, Rei thought. She mustered up something to say. "I thought you were being stubborn and not talking to Akira or Gan. That's the reason you're stuck here, right?"

"You're the last person I want to talk to about it. I have other things to do. Big Boss is still missing--"

He pursed his lips. She already knew too much about his life than he'd ever tell someone like a neighbor. What else did have to share with her? First his time, then his company, and his history. 

She seemed to have taken the hint. But then her lips curled into a smile. She giggled, then immediately stopped. She hated giggling. It was childish and immature, and she preferred an inaudible, sarcastic chuckle to it. 

It was too late. Edge had noticed. "What's so funny?"

"You have some soap up here," she pointed to his forehead.

He tried looking up at his forehead, but found it impossible. He inferred that when he had scratched his head earlier, some soap must have come off of his hands and onto the purple cloth and blond hair. 

"Here," Rei said and dabbed at it with the cloth. "There you go." Her smile suddenly disappeared.

"What?" he frowned.

She rested a hand to her bulging middle. Edge gulped in anticipation. Was something wrong with the baby? No, no, there couldn't be. That would mean an emergency. That would mean calling an ambulance or escorting her to the hospital. He so did not need that responsibility. There was nothing worse he could handle.

"Well?" he said a little louder, very anxious.

"I can feel the baby move," she grinned. "Oh my God."

His eyes stared at her unblinking. She grabbed his hand and pressed it to her stomach before he could protest. "Do you feel it? Do you?"

His mouth dropped open. "I… I…" _This isn't happening. This is NOT happening._

Her glee was interrupted by concern. "Edge?"

"Y-yeah," he stammered, withdrawing his hand. He nodded, a bit reluctantly. His face, neither of them noticed, had risen to a shade of pink. "I felt it."

"Oh, good. I was worried-- you spaced out on me for a second there."

__

Space out? Why, of course not. It's so normal for me to actually feel a baby kicking or whatever it was doing in some next door neighbor's womb. He thought sardonically. 

He went back to the couch to sit down while Rei put the dishes back in their cabinets. Her face still displayed a smile because of the happy occurrence. It was a deep contrast to their somber attitudes from their previous discussion.

"Hey," she called.

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering about something. What's your real name?"

"Why do you want to know?" he sat rigid while speaking.

She yawned into her hand. "Well, I was curious. Your parents couldn't have named you Edge."

"It's none of your business." He flipped through more channels. "Just finish up already."

She could feel the coldness in his voice, though they were in separate rooms. She nodded to herself. They'd had _some_ development toward friendship that night. At the same time, the walls had been defined. There were immutable barriers he would never allow her to cross. 

__

My only possible friend, a knife-wielding maniac who doesn't want to be seen with me. She sighed. _I wouldn't want to be seen with me either, I guess._ _There's been worse. There has been worse._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shoma yawned. "And can you explain to me again why we're at Pacific High?"

Natsu stood with her arms folded over her chest, spying the school buildings from atop the hood of a random car in the parking lot. Roberto leaned against a street light, keeping his thoughts to himself. 

"We've already been to two other schools. And next time, we're going nowhere near the Nerima and Juuban districts, is that clear? Man, they have some weirdoes there," Shoma grumbled.

"That red headed pig-tailed girl was not as bad as that blond odango girl," Roberto confessed.

She shook her head. "Forget that. We've come all this way to this American school and we're not turning back. So let's see what the foreigners are up to."

Shoma frowned. "You sound like you've already convicted them."

"Yeah, you're right. That's your job, isn't it, Shorty?" Natsu smirked. 

"Hey!"

"Calm down, you two. Let's get this over with." Roberto pushed off from the streetlight and started toward the school. Shoma and Natsu towed behind, glaring at each other. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where in the world is Roy?" Tiffany frowned. 

"I _thought_ he was in the gym," Bowman replied.

"He's not there?"

"I just came from there."

She stomped her foot. "Ooh! I'm going to give him a piece of my mind. He tells me to wait for him right here at the front of the school so we can get a bite to eat. Then he stands me up! If I didn't like him so m--" She stopped herself. She turned to Bowman, who either had not heard or chose not to listen. Tiffany calmed down before she made more of an embarrassment of herself. "So, where else could he be?"

Meanwhile, Roy yawned into the phone mouthpiece. "So, what are you getting at, _Dad_?"

He hated his father's long-winded speeches. The worst ones were when he had a very awkward point to make, and didn't know how to get around to it, and so spent a lot of time getting there. Those took almost hours. Roy hooked a thumb into the belt loop of his jeans and shifted his weight onto his right, leaning on the counter in an idle fashion. 

He paused. "What did you say? … No, no you're kidding, right?" Roy's face paled slightly. "No, come on, Dad. I mean, that's… that's… Dad! You can't do this to me! Why do _I_ have to check it out? What? Good example? … Example of _what did you say_? Give me a break!" He yelled into the phone receiver. "I'm not doing it!"

There was a long gap of silence again. 

"You… you wouldn't. No, you wouldn't dare." An intake of breath. "You would? Oh, man…" He raked his free hand through his hair, biting his lower lip. "Yeah. Fine. I understand. Bye." He said the last word curtly, slamming the phone down when he was finished. 

He met his friends at the front of the school, his hands stuffed in his pockets. His soles of his shoes dragged on the ground as he somberly approached them.

"What happened?" Tiffany gasped, instantly recognizing the mixture of anger and frustration in Roy.

~~~~~

"Shh! Move back," Natsu warned Shoma, grabbing him by the shirt and tugging him around the corner of a part of the building with her and Roberto. They intently watched three Pacific High School students talking at the front of the school. One was a lean muscled boy with blond hair. The girl also had blond hair, but curls and very short shorts, as Shoma chose to notice. The last student was tall, black, and passive. His clothes were very neat. He looked like he could toss them over his shoulder as if it were no thing at all. And he also looked like he'd step aside to avoid squashing a bug.

Shoma tightened his grip on his baseball bat. "So, now what?"

"I can't hear! Shut up," Natsu ordered. She turned back to the three Americans.

Roy kicked the ground, muttering a curse word as he did. 

"What happened? Tell us!" Tiffany urged.

"My Dad says I can't get out of Japan until I investigate some recent attacks on other high schools. Stupid old man…" He looked up at his friends. "You don't have to come if you don't want to. This is really my problem."

Bowman shook his head. "If you must do this, we shall, too."

"Thanks guys."

~~

Roberto smiled. "You see? They're going to help us."

"Why would they want to help us?" Shoma asked, stepping back a bit more. His foot tripped over his bat that until then had been leaning up against the brick. He cried out as he landed on the cement.

~~

Roy froze. Then he slowly turned around, squinting off into the distance. "Did you guys hear something?"

Author: please review. I appreciate any thoughts you might have of this at all. And again, I'm sorry for the delay! 


	4. Coming Up Short

An Unexpected Life

By Sulia Serafine

Chapter 4: Coming Up Short

Disclaimer: I do not own the Rival Schools characters (darn). I'm not making any money off them. I'm doing this for entertainment purposes only. Original characters and plots belong to me. 

Author: Hey—thought I abandoned this fic, didn't you? Nah. Just took a year off. (laughs) Okay! I've decided! I'm going to go against the story line for the RS games! (That includes Project Justice). Yay for alternate endings! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long! I lost touch with the story, but now I'm back in the groove… (As corny as that sounds) I'm not sure when I'll get Chapter 5 done. But I try every spare moment I have. I wouldn't dream of leaving this unfinished. With that said, enjoy the chapter, and remember to review after! All reviews are cherished and put on a shelf of pride.

~~

"Sakura! Wait up!" Kei yelled at the top of her lungs as she ran down the street. Her friend was barely in sight; Kei could just see her white headband fluttering in the wind. Kei finally decided to stop and catch her breath, even if it would mean a larger gap to close between them. She plopped down onto a nearby green bench and looked at her watch. It was almost time to eat. Now that food was on her mind, Kei's stomach appropriately grumbled, craving attention. 

"Ugh."

"Kei! Come on, you're so slow!" She could hear Sakura whine before she even saw her.

Kei set down her schoolbag on the ground beside her feet and took out a snack. "Well, I'm tired and hungry. It's not like we're late or anything. You're actually very early."

"But I want to be there long before my opponent is! You know that!"

"Some days," her friend began, "I really wish you would take a vacation from all this!"

Sakura searched her wits for a decent reply. "I didn't _ask_ you to come."

"That's the problem with best friends. We may not like to go somewhere, but we'll want to for the other's sake." Kei smiled. "After all, someone has got to make sure you go promptly home afterwards instead of hanging out with the hooligans."

The other girl snorted. "Yeah right! You come here for _me_, you say?" she laughed teasingly. "I wasn't the one commenting on a boy's rippling muscles at the last fight, was I?"

Kei blushed. "It's not like that will do any good! Who would want to be girlfriend to a fighter? They're always getting in trouble, with black eyes and bruises that need to be tended to! I get sick enough as it is helping you around when you limp through the school halls after a particularly harsh defeat!"

Sakura sat down on the bench beside her. "Somehow I think you'll be singing a different tune by the time we graduate."

"_If_ we graduate! I know _I_ will, but the way you're going around getting yourself hurt, I don't think you'll survive until then!"

Her best friend stuck out her tongue at her. They proceeded to laugh over the argument and talk about getting some ice cream after the fight (no matter what the outcome). They failed to notice two people walking on the opposite side of the street, about to get into a run down old car with a terribly rusted bumper. It was a two door family car that looked like it had seen better days while sitting in its driveway. 

"It was a mistake to do it so early. We should have waited until the ruckus died down at Taiyo. The others are making way too much fuss," a woman with long black hair and glasses said to an older man with an unshaven chin and darker skin. They looked to be in their thirties. They argued with each other in harsh tones.

"Gedo is a nuisance! Why did we bother? I mean, Taiyo--"

"Would you just shut _up_, Kyoko, and get into the car!"

The woman seemed shocked to hear her self being reprimanded. She hugged the manila folder she held in her arms a little closer to her body. "Don't you ever forget who you're talking to, Hideo! We'll talk about this later!"

With a large effort to be loud and annoying, the woman opened the passenger side door and got in. The man did likewise, beginning another argument, which would last for a lengthy amount of time. The car started, the usual noises accompanied by unhealthy clamor. The car sped away, leaving tire marks in the street. 

"Hmm…" Sakura noticed a few papers left on the street where the car had been. "That woman must have dropped them." She walked over and picked them up. 

With a groan, Kei forced herself up from her resting spot and joined her across the street. She yawned into her hand and braced the other on her hip. "What is it?"

Sakura read a few lines from the papers, recognizing names and situations that she'd heard on the nightly news. She gasped and turned to her companion. "I've got to get these to Hinata! She was telling me about this on the phone earlier… and… and…"

"What?" Kei's eyes were as wide as saucers now.

"How come _I_'ve never heard of Justice High School?"

~~

"Hey! Who the hell are you?" Roy yelled in his angriest voice. Tiffany, looking over his shoulder, noticed three strangers around the corner of the building. At the same time, she noticed the vein popping out of Roy's neck. She took a step back, colliding with Boman. The massive young man put a hand on her shoulder to steady her as they continued to observe the newcomers.

"You spying on us? You're the ones my old man was just telling me about, aren't you?" Roy accused, feeling way too mad from his recent phone call to use his common sense and logic.

Shoma got up to his feet and was about to say something, but Roberto wisely clamped a hand over the baseball player's mouth.  Natsu stepped forward instead, raising her hands to signify that she came in peace. 

"Not spying, really, no. We…" she paused to think of the most innocuous words she could say. "We're from Gorin High School, and when we heard that what happened to us, happened elsewhere, we wanted to investigate other high schools who hadn't been attacked yet…"

"Yet? What do you mean yet? So you know who is behind it?" Roy went on, acting more belligerent than Tiffany or Boman had seen in a while.

Boman moved between Natsu and Roy before anything could start. With her safety secured, Natsu went on. "It's not us! We were attacked as well. We merely wish to help."

"I believe them," the large man told Roy. 

"I want to see some ID!" Roy insisted.

Tiffany sighed. "You'd better do as he says. He's obviously cranky."

Natsu showed her school ID, though she thought it was a bit unnecessary. Roy examined it for a few moments. Grudgingly, he handed it back to her and grumbled an approval to his friends. Boman smiled, glad that Roy was starting to calm down. Natsu put away her ID and grinned. There wasn't going to be a fight between them after all. 

Roberto stepped up, still restraining Shoma. "Perhaps we had better talk about this somewhere else. People could be listening right now."

The idea unnerved Tiffany, who began to glance around her fearfully. She pounded her fist onto her opposite palm in a surge of confidence. "Alright! Let's go to that diner we were headed to. We'll talk over a bite to eat."

~~

Edge spent most of the week alone. Gan had earlier made an attempt at apology, but was interrupted by Akira. Edge and Akira argued every time they met. When the subject of Daigo was brought up between them, they acted reasonably civil with each other. Otherwise, Edge remained defiant to Akira's attempts at leadership. Akira and Gan would keep in touch with the Taiyo students and in turn, they would keep Edge updated on their progress. Edge barely participated in the investigations. 

Every afternoon, Rei would come over and sit on his couch, searching through Want Ads for jobs she could take once the baby was born. So far, all she could be was a waitress, a laundress, and a cashier at the grocery store. It was depressing to see how her life would be played out. She tried to forget about it by doing some of Edge's homework. 

That Thursday, he was doing stomach crunches on his bedroom floor while Rei sat in a chair looking at his math homework.  

"Why bother?" he said to break the bothersome silence. 

She put down her pencil and looked at him. "You'd rather not graduate and then be the oldest bully at Gedo?"

He froze midway through a crunch and uncurled until he was flat on the floor again. He had his arms folded behind his head. "Me and Gan used to make fun of idiots like that. Too dumb to get out of high school."

"Gan and _I_," she corrected. 

"Well, gee, aren't smart people like you supposed to know better than to get knocked up?"

The bitter words had left his mouth before he'd even had a single sensible thought stream through his brain to tell him that it was wrong to say it. He immediately regretted it, but his pride prevented him from taking back anything he ever said to anyone. So he stopped speaking after that and concentrated on his stomach crunches. He spared a glance at his neighbor, who sat passively on his chair with his math book.

She'd heard the same thing before from her parents. They were unbearable now. She hadn't spoken to them since they kicked her out. She deserved it, of course. But still, there were some times that she wished that she could go back to them and be happy for at least a day… and forget all her mistakes. Just one day. That's all she wanted.

She put the paper in the book and closed it, setting it down on his bed beside her.  "Math is done. I think that's all you had. Look over the notes. You'll want to get a passing mark so you can move on to the next grade level."

Edge frowned. He got up from the floor and picked up his book. "You shouldn't have wasted your time."

Rei shrugged. "That's my decision to make, isn't it?" She pointed to the book. "Go look at your notes."

"No way! I don't study. I'd rather go pick a fight somewhere outside!"

She sighed. "If you really want to…" She started to leave. "Bye."

He opened the book to the page where she stuck the paper in. She'd scribbled notes for him in the margin. He started to read them, though half of the words and examples still didn't make sense. He rubbed the back of his neck tensely. He looked up to the door from which she had left. He ran out and yelled, "Wait!"

Rei turned around from the bottom of the stairs. She stepped back as Edge slid down the rail and landed beside her. The girl folded her arms across her chest and waited for him to speak. 

"I, um… I can't make heads or tails of your stupid notes. They're no good to me," he said, shrugging his shoulders and handing the textbook to her. "You think you can translate for me?"

She had the right mind to refuse after his earlier insult, but she'd been insulted by him before. She knew she had no other 'friends'. Edge was as good as it got. With that half-sad, half-aggravating knowledge in her mind, she nodded her head. "I guess I have to. Go to the kitchen. I'll explain it while I cook dinner."

"My mom left food in the fridge," he mentioned.

"And you'd rather eat mold than my cooking?" 

"Eww, no! I'm just saying you don't _have_ to."

"And I've been saying that it's my choice to make," she replied. Rei walked ahead of him into the kitchen, beginning to get some ingredients for dinner. Edge sat down at the table, opening the math book up to the notes page. He scratched his head and wondered what Gan and Akira were doing right then.

~~

"Aren't you done eating yet?" Akira asked impatiently. 

"Nuh-uh! I still have dessert, you know!"

The smaller person growled softly in frustration and looked at the clock on the wall. They were never going to get out to meet the Taiyo students so they could talk about their investigations. She missed her brother horribly and she was sure that Gan missed him too, even if he was too preoccupied at the moment to do so.

~~

_They're probably having more fun than I am right now._ Edge sighed. 

"What's wrong with you?" Rei asked without turning to see him.

"Nothing is wrong with me! Why do you always have to be so nosy?"

"I'm not being nosy. You're the one attracting attention to himself with your melodramatic sighs."

"I am not!" he yelled back. 

She didn't respond to that claim. It would be the start to a long-winded argument that would border on childish and insane. She smiled privately to herself so he wouldn't see. "Do you like dumplings?"

Edge's mouth began to water involuntarily. He blinked. "Um… They're _okay_, I guess."

"You _guess_."

"Shut up!"

She chuckled. "Well, that's what you're getting. And mine are the best."

Edge drummed his fingers on the table. "Well, what about the math?"

"Are you sure that you want to study now?" She turned away from the stove for a moment to gaze at him. Edge was twirling a pencil in his hand, where normally a knife would be spinning. Rei definitely preferred the pencil. There was less of a chance that he could accidentally let the pencil fly and kill her. The knife, well… the knife was another story. 

He put his feet up on the chair next to him and groaned. "This stuff is so _boring_."

"Whether it's boring or not, you have to learn it."

"You're sounding like a mother already."

"I suppose that's the closest to a compliment I'll ever get, hmm?"

If he knew that she was poking gentle fun at her own state, he didn't hint at it. He let his stomach do the talking. "Are you done cooking yet? I'm hungry."

She laughed. "You sound like a child."

When she turned to look at him, he stuck out his tongue at her and made a face. 

"Not only do you sound like a child, but you look like a monkey." She went back to cooking. The water was boiling now, and she could drop the dumplings in. 

"I do not!"

"Go take a look in the mirror and make that face."

There was noise behind her as he got up from the table in search of a mirror or a shiny surface to see his reflection. She heard a cry of indignation and soon after: someone dragging his feet back into the kitchen.

"What did I tell you?"

"Humph!" he huffed.

~~

Friday:

"Looking for me?"

Akira nearly jumped out of her boots. She stiffened and turned on her heel to face the student from Taiyo High School, Kyosuke Kagami. She hated to admit it, but with all her training, this guy still managed to sneak up on her when she least expected it. It was a good thing that Gan wasn't there to witness her falter. As the Big Boss's "little brother", she had to maintain a reputation. 

The tall boy in front of her smirked, like he'd derived amusement from her actions. "You were the one who told _me_ to come here."

"What's been going on?" she asked. There was no need to beat around the bush. 

Kyosuke glanced around them. They were a block down from his school, under the shade of some trees. People who were passing by paid no attention to them, even if Akira's biker outfit seemed out of place with the flowers and perky neighborhood. 

"Well?" she demanded.

He adjusted his glasses. "A friend of Hinata showed up yesterday with something suspicious that she found. She'd found it this past weekend, but she couldn't find the free time to visit Hinata until today."

"Oh? And who is this friend?"

"Sakura Kasugano. Different high school."

She nodded. "What was it?"

"Profiles of students from Taiyo and Gorin."

"Well, can I see them?"

Kyosuke looked down so all she saw was the sun reflecting off his glasses. He casually ran his fingers down the edge of his jacket. "The papers were lost over night. I think someone knows what we're doing."

_Why does he seem nervous all of a sudden?_ She was glad he couldn't see her glare from under her helmet. "Okay. Anything else?"

"Just be careful. I'll call later." With that he turned his back on her and walked away. Akira left in the opposite direction. She couldn't pin anything solid onto Kyosuke, so why bother worrying about his weird behavior? It wasn't like he was one of them. She stopped in the middle of the street and hopped back onto the sidewalk. She turned and called out to Kyosuke, who was still within yelling distance.

"Hey Kagami!"

Akira shifted her weight to her other foot and stared him straight in the eye, even if he couldn't see hers. 

"I miss my brother. I want him back."

Kyosuke nodded. "I understand."

She watched him walk away this time. His steps were slow as if he were in a daze and in a deep trance. She wondered if he was deeply as troubled as her. Maybe his reasons for getting involved in this investigation were just as serious as hers. Maybe.

~~

A car was suspiciously parked a few driveways down from the Yamada residence, where two people watched with piercing gazes. They'd heard of people investigating their business. An especially harsh penalty had befallen them for the lost profiles from the weekend before. Now they had even more tedious tasks to complete to appease their boss.

Rei stepped out of the door, shouldering a purse strap. She hummed a little tune as she wiggled her feet more properly into her shoes. An older woman with a slightly dumpy appearance leaned out of the doorway.

"Are you sure you don't want me to call Edge? I don't want you to carry those groceries by yourself."

"That's unnecessary, Mrs. Kishida. I can carry them. It's not much."

The certain young man they were mentioning happened at that time to walk down the street. His jaw was open wide in a yawn while his arms stretched over his head. Rei felt a strange sense of foreboding and wondered if she should run while she still had the chance. Not that she _could_ run. But maybe slide around the corner and hide…

"There you are! I have a job for you, Edge!" Mrs. Kishida called. She waved.

When Edge heard his name, he put his arms down and looked for the speaker. When he saw his annoying neighbor waving to him, he groaned. All he'd wanted to do was go home and sleep. He'd spent time with Rei every day that week! What else had to be done?

He told himself that money from his father had better be given to him that day (he hadn't gotten paid for his generosity of time or good behavior since that last weekend). Edge vaulted over the metal fence between their two residences and strolled on over to where the two ladies stood. He nodded to Rei, an indifferent and general acknowledgement; then he waited for Mrs. Kishida to speak.

"Edge, please go with Rei to the grocery store and help her carry the bags home. There's a good boy!" Before he had time to refuse, the woman went inside humming a too-cheerful tune.

The spiky haired blonde glared after her. "I hate it when she does that."

"Ditto," Rei replied. She looked at her watch. "Come on, I want to get this done early so I can cook dinner."

They began walking toward the store. Edge shoved his hands in his pockets. "They let you cook now? Last time I was over there, they were treating you like a glass figurine. Not doing _anything_."

"Yeah, they let me do stuff now. I'd feel weird if they didn't. They didn't have to take me in."

"Humph."

"What's the 'humph' for?"

"Nothing."

She smiled teasingly. "You're just disappointed that I'm not cooking for _you_ tonight. I was going to try something different, too."

He snorted. He didn't need to live on her cooking. Sure, it was fantastic, but he'd never tell her. He promised himself that. Edge Yamada had a reputation! He was tough. He could eat whatever you threw at him! Okay, that was Gan, but Edge could easily fake that claim. All it took was an ego the size of Tokyo and a lot of pride on the side.

The two people in the car observed Edge and Rei until they were out of sight. The woman picked up a pen and wrote down some notes on a computer print out with the name Yamada, Eiji on it. She handed it to her partner, who nodded approvingly. He started the car and they drove off.

~~

"Aw… pair of newly-weds are ya?" a man in his sixties laughingly commented from behind the counter. Rei and Edge had just entered, the bell on the door still chiming. 

A younger woman by the old man frowned. "They're kind of young, Dad."

"Nonsense! I was young when I married! I married your mother right out of school!" He smiled at Rei. "Well I'd be darned, Miss! You look like you're carrying twins!"

"Father!" the woman reprimanded his nosiness, but was unable to hold in a grin.

Rei used every ounce of self-control within her not to burst into laughter. Edge stood there. His cheeks were turning red, and he was caught between a feeling of embarrassment and anger.

"I totally approve of young marriage," the man went on. "It's better than these girls I see on the news getting babies before they're even out of high school! I mean-- I'd approve if they married. I've seen high schoolers get married! My best friend, Chisa—"

If it were at all possible, Edge and Rei winced at the same time. They slowly made their way toward the first food isle. The man behind the counter continued his conversation with his daughter while Rei picked up a plastic basket and started putting her items inside it. First was a can of fruit, and then some dried goods that Edge didn't even bother to look at.

As soon as they were out of earshot, she started to snicker. 

"That was humiliating."

"It was _funny_," she grinned. She set another item into her basket and turned to her companion. "But we'd better pretend or else he might not let me shop here anymore. Do you have a ring?"

Edge's face twisted into an expression of disgust. "What? No way!"

"Oh come on. This is a nice grocery store and I want to be able to come back."

He rolled his eyes. "Not with me."

"You wouldn't have to next time. Do you have a ring or not?"

Edge shrugged. "I have my class ring. Too big for your finger, probably."

"Anything else?"

He thought for a moment and reached into his pocket. "I stole a smaller class ring from this guy who ticked me off first period." He tossed it at her. She caught it and set her basket down. Rei tried it on. She held up her hand triumphantly to him.

 "See? Perfect fit. That guy must have had small fingers, just like me!" She then twisted the ring around so you saw the bottom of the ring, and not the part with the school emblem. "Perfect. Turn yours over, too."

"This is so stupid!" He did as he was told and shuddered at what it represented.

"I know. But it's only temporary."

While she continued to pick up things she needed, Edge planned out in his mind a perfect way to vandalize the grocery store. He wouldn't actually do it, but it helped to pass the time. He could start off with some spray paint, and a few cracked windows… After her basket was full, Rei began to give him things to hold. When they had picked up everything she needed, they headed back to the counter where the old man and his daughter were still talking.

"Let's see, let's see…" the woman rang up the price for all the items and told Rei, who took money out of her purse and handed it to her. The woman handed Rei the change and started to place their purchases in two paper bags.

The old man chuckled. "So how's married life?" he asked Edge. "Everything you thought it would be?"

_And more. This sucks so much worse than the real thing—not that it would ever happen!_ He shrugged. "I suppose."

"Aw, now where's that romantic spirit, huh?"

_How about up your a—_he was elbowed in the side by Rei as if she had read his mind. She smiled politely at the old man.

"It's been a long day," she told him convincingly. With that, she put a hand on Edge's shoulder to pull him toward her. "Just be nice," she whispered into his ear. "Just this once."

Edge rolled his eyes again. He smiled curtly to the old man before taking both grocery bags—one in each arm, and walking out the store with Rei right behind him. They began the walk home. Rei took off the ring as soon as they were outside. She put it into her purse for safekeeping. "You don't mind that I keep it, do you? So next time I go in there…"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

She smirked. "You're not as bad as you think, you know."

"Yes I am," he shot back. "I'm very dangerous. I'm one of the most dangerous guys in school and everyone knows it!"

"I wonder what everyone would say if they saw you carrying my groceries. Dangerous! Yeah, sure. Just as dangerous as a cuddly teddy bear."

His cheeks flushed at that comment. "You forget that I'm getting paid for all this. It's just another job. That's all. And you're still so damn lucky that you're… you're that way or else I'd be dragging you home by your hair!"

"Uh-huh. _Sure._ Whatever you say," she replied.

He muttered more obscenities under his breath. _The last thing I need in my life is all of this! Why can't everything go back to normal? Why did it have to be the Kishidas to take her in? Why does she have to be such a smart-ass? And why the hell does she have to cook so damn well?_

"I'll come over and cook tomorrow if you want." She continued to face forward, but observed him out of the corner of her eyes. She watched his eyes roll up toward the sky, as if seeking divine advice. The irises lowered again until he was staring straight ahead.

"Mmmphh."

"Is that a yes?"

"Mmphrrmmph."

"Ramen, sure. I can cook ramen."

He looked over at her with an eyebrow lifted in suspicion. They both knew he had made a muffled sound and not an attempt at words at all. Rei laughed and shook her head. "Come on. You're not complaining, are you?"

"No," he mumbled a bit reluctantly.

"Hey… That wasn't so hard now, was it?"

"Mmph."

~~

Thanks for reading! I hope you liked this installment of An Unexpected Life! Tell me what you think, please review!


	5. Nights Out

An Unexpected Life

By Sulia Serafine

Chapter 5: Nights Out

Disclaimer: I do not own the Rival Schools characters (darn). I'm not making any money off them. I'm doing this for entertainment purposes only. Original characters and plots belong to me. 

Author: Hey—thought I abandoned this fic, didn't you? Nah. Just took a few months off. (laughs) With that said, enjoy the chapter, and remember to review after! All reviews are cherished and put on a shelf of pride.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WERE INCREDIBLY IMPATIENT: EDGE HAS A REAL **FIGHT**.

~~

Shouts and cheers rang out when the kickboxer's glove made rough contact with his weary opponent's face. Edge whooped and yelled. He shadowboxed, imitating the fighters' moves like the most enthusiastic sport spectators.

"Did you see that?!" he exclaimed rhetorically. He didn't even look down at his seated companion, but was fixed upon the match before him.

Rei had to admit—she had never seen him happier. His face lit up with pleased expressions whenever he witnessed violent fights. It was a bit scary to think of it that way, but she had decided long ago not to be scared of anything he had to show her. It was mostly a façade to keep his reputation. 

The roar of the crowd suddenly magnified itself when the knockout of one of the kickboxers occurred. The winner lowered his leg that had quite forcefully kicked the other into oblivion. He lifted his gloved hands above his head, basking in the glory of victory. The referee called the time and the complete K.O. to the champion.

Rei slowly stood up, clapping and cheering like everyone around her. The win was justly deserved. She'd seen this particular combatant before, in another town. Actually, she had known him in her hometown. With her luck, she might run into him if she and Edge decided to go down to the floor.

_That might not be a good thing,_ she thought sadly.

"Yo. That guy is waving to you," Edge told her absently as he bent down to get his soda. 

She despondently looked up. A man near the balcony stairs approached them. Her heart fluttered. _Finally, a real friend!_  "Su-kun!" 

The young man with short dark hair and a goatee jogged the rest of the way and embraced her. He held her back, looked at her belly, and whistled. "Wow, you're bigger than last time I saw you!"

"Su-kun, it's so nice to see you!" Rei beamed. She turned around and gestured to Edge. "Hey, this is Sumitomo Uchida. He's one of my friends from my old home. Su-kun, this is my very good friend, Edge Yamada."

Sumitomo held out his hand to the knife-wielder as a sign of friendship. Edge nodded to the newcomer. He didn't like handshakes. Rei cleared her throat nervously.

"Well! What are you doing here, Su-kun?" she asked.

"Just came to see Ken's fight. Looks like another victory for the most inflated ego in history," he rolled his eyes. "Hey! Do you two want to come to the after party? It's about to get started. Come on, it'll be just like old times!"

Rei faced Edge. "What do you think?"

He shrugged. "Whatever."

"That's a 'yes' in Edge-speak," she told Sumitomo with a chuckle. Edge snorted.

~~

_Oh, what was I thinking? We shouldn't have come!_ Rei thought, very distressed. She had been so happy to see Sumitomo that she'd totally overlooked the fact that she would have to mingle with people. 

"Good thing I have this," she muttered to herself, and put on Edge's class ring again, twisted upside down. It worked. Even a robust man at the door had congratulated her. Edge, at that time, had separated from her while rolling his eyes and heading for the food table. Sumitomo sighed as they walked around.

"How are you doing these days?" he asked in a gentle, concerned voice. "Have you talked at all with—"

"No. I don't want to talk to him and he most certainly does not want to talk with me. It's bad enough his best friend is here," she replied bitterly. When she saw the hurt look on Sumitomo's voice, her expression softened. "I'm okay, Su-kun. I don't need him. I have this baby and we're going to live quite peacefully without him."

He stroked his goatee and nodded. "Well, I'm glad. You're like a sister to me. I was so sad to see you leave." Sumitomo frowned and raised himself up to his tiptoes to look over people's heads. "Ya know, your new boyfriend is practically inhaling food. I hope someone knows the Heimlich."

"He's not my boyfriend," Rei informed. She laughed at the image of Edge stuffing food into his mouth, but she chose not to turn and look. 

Sumitomo's eyebrows rose. He rocked back on the balls of his feet and placed one hand in his tweed trouser pockets. The young man looked very surprised and a bit confused. His other hand touched hers. "What's with that ring, then?"

"It's a cover. You know, to get rid of gossip," the pregnant girl explained. "He's the decoy. His nice parents pay him to keep me company and to keep me from getting lost. Edge is actually very sweet if you learn to push the right buttons."

"Uh-huh. Sure. And you do or don't like him?" Sumitomo asked with a knowing smile.

Rei chortled with more laughter. "No way! How could I? He's a knife wielding maniac most of the time. He's just a friend, Su-kun."

"Whatever you say, Rei-chan."

"Well, well, well. Whom do we have here?" a deep voice said from behind her. 

Rei immediately saw the disapproval in Sumitomo's eyes as he looked over her shoulder. Stifling her insecurities and forcing a bright smile onto her face, she turned around. Her expression turned crestfallen when she realized who had addressed her. She cleared her throat and smoothed out invisible wrinkles on her skirt. 

"Hello, Ken. Congratulations on your good _luck_," she quipped. Rei knew from past experiences that Ken hated the idea of luck and relished the thought of his superior skill, which supposedly had nothing to do with luck.

The champion kickboxer sneered. "It's amazing how many poor wayward and wretched girls they allow to walk around the streets." He looked down at the hand that Sumitomo still held—now a bit more protectively than anything else. "I see you managed to con your way into an engagement." He glanced at Sumitomo. "Don't tell me you're the fool."

"No, I'm not. And for your information, there is no fool—"

"There's a very capable fighter willing to kick your ass if I ask him to," Rei lied. There was no sense in giving Ken more satisfaction by saying that she still had no man and that the baby would most likely be born out of wedlock.

Ken glared at her and raised the volume of his voice. "I'm so glad that my best friend agreed with me when I said it was time for him to dump you. You're just a whore and that bastard of a child in your belly proves it!"

Silence consumed the banquet hall. Rei could feel every eye on her. She forced herself to control her breathing. No way would someone as cruel as Ken get to her. She'd spent the majority of the last few months growing indifferent to men and women like him! Plenty of people were kind and accepting, like Sumitomo right next to her!

_Don't cry. Don't cry,_ she commanded herself desperately, though tears were already welling up in her eyes. She took a step back.

"That's right. Get out of here. This is my victory party. The likes of _you_ have no business here with good, wholesome people," Ken hissed.

A trickle of moisture dripped down her left cheek. After that, the invisible dam broke and salty tears flooded from her eyes as she turned heel and ran through the crowd and out the door. Sumitomo called out to his friend, but it was too late. Rei was gone. Men and women began murmuring amongst themselves at the scandal.

"Damn it, Ken! Just because you're a champion doesn't mean you can walk all over people!" Sumitomo yelled. 

Ken faked a pout. "Aw, Sumi. What are you going to do? _Hit_ me?"

When the other man didn't reply, Ken laughed raucously. 

"He might not, but I sure as fucking hell have no problem with it!"

Ken frowned. He turned and—

---immediately felt his head snap back when a fist came out of nowhere and struck his nose. Ken stumbled to the side, instantly reaching up to touch his face. Blood was coming from his nostrils. He stood up straight and looked at his unknown attacker. "Who the hell are you?"

Edge took his stance, clenching his fists. "I've been looking for _days_ for an excuse to fight, and seeing someone as arrogant as you actually get away with humiliating people is just freaking perfect for me. So, come on!" He grinned maniacally. "I've always wanted to kick the ass of a champion kickboxer. I won't even use my knives. They're too good for your snake blood!"

The crowd began to part to give them room. Though there were security guards at every door of the room, they made no move to stop Edge. Ken appeared rather insulted that no on spoke against the challenging stranger, but these silent observers were also loved seeing fights whether those brawls were professionally sanctioned or not.

Ken decided to take the initiative and attacked. He used his sped to go in, throw two very hard punches, and back out again. Edge blocked the first right punch. He felt his face sting as the left cross struck his eye. 

He squinted through his unhurt eye. He yelled something incoherent and launched a flying kick at Ken, who weakly blocked it and took the brunt of the hit on his left shoulder. 

The crowd started to cheer, growing bloodthirsty at the sight of the two men fighting it out. Sumitomo stood off to the side with a grim look on his face. He did not approve of it at all, but he wasn't stupid enough to try and interrupt them. All he could do was help Edge limp out of the room and find Rei whenever they finished because he didn't expect a teenage kid to beat a kickboxing champion.

The two fighters exchanged blow after blow, gaining more bruises and welts than they chose to acknowledge. Neither let their growing injuries stop them. They lashed out at each other like wild animals.

Edge knew he was at a disadvantage because he chose not to use his weapons. But he would prove it to them all that he was just as good without them. He jumped back from a quick right hook that connected with the side of Ken's head. 

His adrenalin was pumping double time through his veins. Edge panted and summoned all his energy for a Burning Vigor attack.

Ken couldn't even make out the string of words that Edge yelled as the spiky blonde charged him at full speed with a glowing battle aura that blinded him. He could feel several punches, kicks, and even knife-like slashes batter his already beaten and tired body before flying back and crashing into the refreshment table. He blacked out.

~~

Rei cursed herself for showing weakness in front of Ken, of all people. She never wanted to give him nor her ex-boyfriend the satisfaction of knowing that they got to her. Her tears had ceased now, but she still dabbed at her eyes with a tissue and sniffled. So here she was, crying alone on a bench, waiting for a taxi to come by. She had called one a few minutes previous, and it wouldn't take that long for her to be on her way home.

Behind her, she could hear the automatic sliding doors of the hotel open. Two pairs of loud footsteps echoed on the tile. A voice muttered something, which caused its companion to snort, then groan in pain.

Blinking her eyes and checking herself until she was sure she was presentable, Rei turned her head. She immediately stood up and gasped. "What happened?"

Edge limped toward her with Sumitomo's help. He hated having to lean on someone, but it was better than dragging himself outside on all fours. Rei's hometown friend didn't speak much. He obviously figured that the spiky blonde was big on reputation and pride, so saying anything to him would result in more curses.

"Su-kun…" Rei began.

"He beat the living daylights out of Ken," Sumitomo explained. Edge let go of him and collapsed onto the bench. He wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. "He's really good for a kid."

"Hey! I'm not a kid! You want to pick a fight with me, I'll—" Edge began before Rei clamped her hand over his mouth. He glared at her and slapped her hand away.

Rei bowed her head toward Sumitomo. "Thank you, Su-kun. You can go back inside now."

He sighed. "Take care, Rei-chan. Or maybe I shouldn't say that, since Mr. I'm-not-a-kid here seems to be taking care for you."

Edge rolled his eyes and turned his head away. Rei approached Sumitomo and gave him one last embrace. The two hometown friends smiled at each other sadly and parted ways. She watched his retreating form enter the hotel and disappear from sight. 

The taxi arrived. Rei helped Edge into the cab though he protested about getting in by his self. She decided to be very patient with him, especially since he had stood up for her toward an old enemy. During the ride home, they nevertheless argued. Edge continued to claim that he did it because it gave him excuses to beat someone more famed for fighting than him.

She didn't believe half of it, but decided not to push the subject further. He never admitted to doing anything nice. If Rei acted mushy about his standing up for her, Edge would most certainly call the cab to a halt and get out. She called up to the cab driver. "Can you stop over there for a few seconds?" 

"What for?" Edge asked. 

The cab driver did as he was instructed. When they were parked in front of the convenience store, she got out. "I'm going to get you some ice for that black eye."

He huffed and slammed the door behind him. She smirked and started toward the store. Rei called over her shoulder, "And don't think you can drive away and strand me here! You don't have any money to pay for the cab!"

The driver perked up at this statement and turned to glare at Edge, who sunk down further into the seat. The injured knife wielder stayed in this position until his unlikely companion returned a few minutes later with a small ice pack. 

She got back in and told the driver to continue on their way. "Come here," she ordered him and leaned forward with the ice pack raised in one hand. He reluctantly did so. "Looks like some skin broke, too. Knowing you, I'm sure your parents have bottles of disinfectant in the bathroom, right?"

Edge winced as she gently pressed the ice pack against his closed eye, which was already turning purple in skin pigment. He held it in place while Rei lowered her hand. She sighed and leaned back.

"In any case, I'm glad somebody finally beat Ken. I'm not entirely glad you did it at his victory party, but maybe now this ought to knock the jerk off his high horse."

"If not me, that Sumitomo guy would have done it sooner or later. He looked like he wanted to, really bad," Edge muttered. "I would've backed him up."

Rei frowned. "I suppose he would."

~~

When they arrived at the Yamada residence, they discovered that Edge's older brother was in his old room, staying for the weekend studying for college finals. He attempted to talk to Edge as Rei helped the blonde into the bathroom for the disinfectant, but his brother accidentally spoke the name "Eiji" instead, earning him a slammed door in the face.

"That's your brother! Why are you so—"

"I'm not listening to another lecture on fighting from Mr. Perfect. And no doubt he's working on one right now about impregnating girlfriends," he growled as he sat down on the toilet with the top seat cover put down.

Rei cringed. She opened the medicine cabinet and found a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. She also found a cotton pad for her to pour it on. "Here. Lift your face up."

"I'm not a baby!" 

"I know you're not. Babies don't get into stupid fist fights," she replied evenly and bent over to dab at his face.

As soon as the soaked cotton pad made contact with the skin breaks on his face, he hissed and jerked his head away. "That stings, damn it!"

"_Now_ you're being a baby," Rei reprimanded. "For crying out loud, come here." She took his face into her hands and tilted it upward. The dark haired girl leaned down and blew gently across the shallow cuts. "There. Now does that feel better?"

He muttered something and turned away before she saw him blush. Rei dabbed some antibiotic cream onto his face and his knuckles where the skin had also broken. Then she commanded him to put the cold compress back on his face while she went out of the bathroom for something she could drink. 

Edge stayed in the bathroom, looking in the mirror from his seat and wondering how he could stop his cheeks from being pink. He cursed and hit the sink counter with his uninjured hand.

Minutes passed by the time Edge's older brother came to the doorway with a cordless phone in hand. "Phone for you."

Edge stood up and took it from him. Just when his older sibling was about to say something, he slammed the door closed once again in his face. 

"Yeah, what is it?" he said impatiently into the phone speaker.

"It's me," Gan's voice answered. "Man, some weird stuff went down today. I think that Kyosuke guy is hiding something from us."

"Oh?" Edge yawned. "What happened?"

~~

_Earlier that day_

Akira and Gan waited for the Taiyo students in the normal place. Up until that day, they were no closer to finding out who had been behind the attacks and disappearances. Akira missed her brother even more with each passing sunrise and sunset.

Finally, three familiar students approached the street corner, shaded by a large tree. As soon as she saw them, Akira got up from the bench and approached with Gan closely following her.

"Kagami. We have to talk," she said inn as low and as threatening a voice as she could muster.

Kyosuke's two companions looked up at their tall friend, who remained unmoved by Akira's tone of voice, then glared at her. Gan stood with his arms folded across his broad chest. He silently challenged them to speak out against her.

The spectacled boy placed his hands calmly in his pockets. "Something wrong, Kazama-san?"

She hated him. She hated him for being polite while she was so openly being disrespectful toward him. She hated him for being so mysterious. Most importantly, Akira hated his peaceful demeanor. It was a slap to the face to see him act so nonchalant around her. She was one of the most feared people at Gedo, being Big Boss's little "brother"! Why wasn't he intimidated?

"Word on the street that there's this guy named Hyo connected to some place called Justice High School. Rumor also says that you know him."

Kyosuke pushed his glasses up the bridge of his straight, perfect nose. "You know what they say about rumors."

"Yeah, that they're always based on truth," she snapped. 

"Kyosuke, is what she said true?" Hinata asked meekly, gazing at her friend with an unspoken hurt clear in her eyes. Her fists were clenched nervously at her sides.

He grimaced. A few moments passed before he finally decided to speak. "I… I've heard of him. I don't know him, but I've heard of him."

"What have you heard?" Gan asked.

"That he's dangerous. That's all. I don't know anything else, but if I were ever to meet him, to run away…" he trailed off. Kyosuke coughed. "That's it."

Akira didn't believe a word he spoke, but she had no choice but to leave it at that for the time being. She was outnumbered, three to two. And though she didn't trust Kyosuke, she had to give the other two, Hinata and Batsu, some credit. They appeared very sincere—especially since Batsu's mother, a school nurse, had also vanished.

"Well then. My people will start an investigation on this Hyo guy. You had better do the same and send the message on to those Pacific and Gorin people, too."

Kyosuke nodded and smiled. "No problem."

"Come on, Gan," she barked and stalked away. 

As soon as they rounded the corner, Batsu faced his two comrades. "I'm following them."

"Why?" Hinata inquired.

"Something's not right with that smaller one. I'll let you know what happens," the dark uniformed boy said and ran away before they could voice their own opinion.

She sighed. "Just great." Hinata paused. "Hey, Kyosuke?" She tried to force her cheeks to their natural color, but a blush colored her face. 

"Yes?" he replied without looking at her.

"How did you hear about Hyo? How come I've never heard of him?" she asked awkwardly. 

An almost imperceptible shadow crossed his features. "You're too good and pure to be hearing about nasty things like that." He looked down at the petite girl and smiled. His hand reached out and brushed some of her bangs from her eyes. Hinata wrestled with her inside emotions about the close proximity of his hands and face.

"Kyosuke…" she whispered.

"Don't worry about it. Let's go find the others. Didn't you say your friend Sakura was somewhere nearby today?"

She walked after him rather blindly, staring at his back as they walked in the other direction as their other comrades. Hinata hated to admit it to herself, but she would follow her handsome and noble friend anywhere. Even if he never told her where they were going.

~~

Gan patted his stomach. "I'm hungry. You go ahead home and I'll meet you there," he said. "Oh, man. Food…"

Akira rolled her eyes from within her helmet. "Sure. Just hurry it up."

Batsu watched the two while being hidden in the bushes. He plotted his confrontation. He would sneak around the alley and surprise her there, forcing her to answer his questions. Something felt so wrong about Akira Kazama. He was sure that the short biker delinquent was lying to him and his friends.

Gan walked away in the opposite direction while the dark leather clad one headed in the direction that Batsu had predicted he would take. He left his hiding place in the bushes and sprinted the long way around to get to the alley before she passed it.

Akira was frustrated. There was simply no other word to describe how she felt that day and the day before that and the day before _that_…

She trudged along the sidewalk, wondering if she should have taken her motorcycle so she wouldn't have to walk. With each day dressed as a boy, she felt more and more unlike herself. 

"_Kazama!_" a voice yelled from her right. 

Akira immediately brought up her arm as a defensive guard position and widened her stance. "What do _you_ want?"

Batsu stepped out from the shadows of the alley, also setting up his stance. "Ever since the first day I met you, I always thought you were lying about something. I'm here to find out what you're keeping from us."

A bead of sweat slipped down her neck. Akira didn't like where this was going. Maybe he already knew about her secret. Maybe he was simply toying with her. She growled. "The only way you're learning anything is if you beat it out of me!"

"Gladly!" he yelled and charged her for the first attack.

Akira blocked and countered his powerful volley of punches, absorbing very few of the hits and dodging the rest. She spun around, performing a roundhouse kick to his head.

"Argh!" she grunted as he caught her ankle and tossed her over his shoulder. 

She kicked her leg back and freed herself from his hold. On her way through the air, she kicked out with her other leg, planting her boot in the middle of his back. She touched ground with her hands and did a back flip back into her stance.

"Fancy, fancy," Batsu muttered, moving his shoulders about to ease the pain in his back.

Akira yelled a battle cry and went into one of her less known Burning Vigor attacks. Batsu felt himself flying backwards from the impact that her attack inflicted. He got up from the ground in record time for someone as battered as him. He couldn't lose. He wouldn't let himself lose.

He tackled her, downright. The slight size of his opponent made it easy for him to do so, though staying there and _keeping_ her pinned was the harder part. He punched her hard in the chest, eliciting a yelp from Akira.

"Now maybe I can finally see that damn ugly face of yours and punch your lights out!" he exclaimed angrily and reached for the helmet unfastening.

Akira panicked. "_No!_"

The helmet came off. Batsu immediately jerked back on his knees, mouth wide open in surprise. He stared at her incredulously. "You're a _girl_?!"

She did the only thing she could think of. She threw her hardest right punch at him and hit him square on the nose. At once, Batsu fell back and off her body. Both hands covered his bloody nose as he strained to keep conscious. Akira scrambled across the ground for her helmet and yanked it back on before someone came by and saw.

"Hello?"

_Just in time,_ she thought and stood up.

Kei rounded the corner, holding her backpack by one strap. She recognized the two fighters at once. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Akira snapped. "Mind your own business and go back to your friend."

She frowned. "That's just it. I'm looking for her right now. She gets lost easily without my navigating." Kei cringed when she saw the blood from Batsu's nose dripping on the ground. He was slowly making his way back onto his feet. "Are you sure you two are okay—"

"We're fine!" Batsu yelled this time. "Get the hell out of here!"

Kei squeaked and jogged past him at once. The Taiyo student leaned against the brick wall of the alley and groaned. "Sheesh. For a girl, you sure do hit like a guy."

Akira blushed. "It's your own damn fault attacking me like that!"

"At least I was right," Batsu retorted. "You _were_ lying. You're a girl, not a guy! Why are you parading around like one, huh?"

"Do you think that guys like Edge and Gan would listen to me if I was a girl?" she whispered furiously, pointing her finger at his chest. 

He reached into his pocket for a handkerchief to put over his bloodied nose. "Well, okay, I see your point. But still!"

"Still? Oh, give me a break," she groused. "If you tell _anyone_, I am going to kill you!"

He wiped his nose and tilted his head back while pinching it. In a nasal voice, he replied, "Fine. But if you lie about anything else, I'll know."

Akira snorted. "Whatever." 

She marched past him. Batsu leaned around the corner of the alley and called to her. She looked around and caught his gaze again.

"You know, you'd look pretty cute if you actually dressed like a girl. Not that you would, but just to let you know," he commented.

"Go home," she yelled and picked up her pace. In the back of her mind, she couldn't help but wonder: _Maybe I ought to…_ try _at least. I mean, if_ he _says I… oh, what am I thinking?! I have to stay dressed like this or else!_

Meanwhile in another part of town, Sakura scratched her head. "I can't believe this! Kei is going to have my head on a platter by the time we find her!" She paused and said over her shoulder without looking. "Thanks again for helping me out. I know that we don't know each other that well, but… you know."

Roberto nodded. "No problem. I'm just worried that Natsu will have killed Shoma by the time I get back."

Sakura giggled. "What is with those two, anyway?"

"Trust me. You don't want to know. I'm not sure I even want to know," the soccer player chuckled.

A familiar blur ran past them, squealing in fright. Sakura blinked.

"Kei?!"

The blur stopped mid step and whirled around. Kei ran toward her friend and nearly knocked her over with a hug. "Oh, you're here! I was so worried! Especially since those other two were fighting, I was just thinking what horrible fights you might have gotten into… and if it was as bad as the fight _I_ saw with that guy's nose all bloodied up, I don't know what I would have—" she stopped when she saw Roberto.

Kei coughed. "I'm sorry, Sakura. Did I interrupt something?" She paused. "Because it's totally okay. I'll just wait for you around the corner or something." She leaned in close and whispered furtively, "At least it isn't some fighter like you meet at your stupid matches. Soccer players! Why didn't I think of that?!"

She waved goodbye and ran around the corner before her confused best friend even had time to blink. Sakura laughed nervously and turned around to Roberto.

"So! How about this weather, huh?"

Things after that lapsed into an awkward silence.

~~

_Present time_

Edge yawned again. "So Akira's pissed that some guy actually came close to beating him and this Kyosuke dude is still hiding something. Okay. I can do something about that later, I suppose. I can't right now. Not for a couple of days." _Or at least until this black eye disappears._

"Man, you never do anything. I already apologized!"

"Well, Small Fry didn't, and I don't like him. I won't lie about it. I flat out don't like that little maggot—even if he's Big Boss's little brother!"

There was a knock at the door. Rei's voice floated over to him from the other side. "Edge? I fixed some soup if you want. Your brother is telling me all about you when you were little. It's so cute!"

Edge paled. "I have to go, Gan. Code red emergency. I'll call you tomorrow."

"What's the emerg—"

_Click._

~~

Author: Wow. I sat down and typed it all in two days. That's the fastest I've ever produced one of these chapters. I hope you liked it! I'm not good at fight scenes, but I'm working on it. Practice makes perfect, right?

Well, tell me what you think! Either by review or email, I don't care! Constructive criticism and feedback is always welcome! 

Sulia Serafine, silverwLng@aol.com


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